


Rust

by Squeakster



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Amputation, Claustrophobia, Crushes, Hana "D.Va" Song - Freeform, M/M, Masturbation, Mechanic!Junkrat, Mei-Ling Zhou - Freeform, Partners to Lovers, Scars, Strangers to Lovers, death mention, mech battling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-10-12 17:50:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10496367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeakster/pseuds/Squeakster
Summary: When Mako's mech engineer bails on him just before a battle, he is forced to find a new one, and the one he finds is a loud-mouthed, obnoxious blond who irritates him to high heaven, but he's damn good at what he does.





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
>  Art by [squish_lee](https://twitter.com/squish_lee)
> 
> [@squish_lee](https://twitter.com/squish_lee) inspired me to write more mechanic!Junkrat, and after already writing something of mechanic!Junkrat and I realized that I need more of it in my life, so here we are.  
> 

Mako was going to kill him. He was livid, and he was contemplating straight-up murder. Mako clutched his phone beside his ear as his engineer rambled on about how he had to "drop out" and leave him and take his mechs with him. He couldn't believe it was happening, and right before a match too. There was a week left until a match that he _needed_  to win, and yet his useless engineer decided that moving to a different country for some lame job was more important.

He was going to kill him.

He had a week. A week to find a new mechanic who was decent enough to build a bot that could face off against some of the best in the area, and Mako had a reputation to upkeep. He was the best at fighting, with his fists and with a mech under his control. As long as the bot stayed upright, he could win with it.

He printed out some fliers, posting online, looking to hire a new a new mechanic. He'd already wasted a day, and spent two more waiting for a response. He had four days left before the match and still nothing. He had half a mind to call up his old engineer, but the man had already taken off to another country by time he could get to him.

Another day went by. Three days left, and even that day had gone by with no word from anyone. Did no one want to work with him? He had a harsh reputation of being rude, off-putting, and thankless, but he wasn't exactly looking for a friend, and engineers weren't either. Everyone in this worthless town was after money or fame, or both. Mako wanted money. Fame was nice too, but it came with problems. He always hid behind a pig mask to keep at least part of his identity secret, and he was damn glad he did.

That evening, he sat on his ragged couch that had more than a few patched holes in it, a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, watching the TV. He put the cigarette between his thick lips and took a long drag before blowing the smoke out in front of him. No one wanted to work with him, it seemed. The guy on TV was talking about the upcoming mech fight, and it made Mako's blood boil. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and pushed it into the ashtray with some force and hit the power button on the TV remote to turn it off. The room was dark except for a small lamp beside him that filled the area with a dim yellow-ish light. He sat there minutes upon minutes, just staring at the black TV screen, at his reflection in it, until he heard a rapid pounding on his door. It sounded urgent and hasty.

Mako sighed and stood up and trudged to the door. He gathered his mask and pulled it over his head, and then opened the door. Just a few inches down, he saw the top of a person's head, blond hair spiking out from under a dirty white baseball cap, with a silver hoop piercing in both his nose and his left ear.

"Yeah?" Mako grunted and the boy glanced up to him, eyes wide and curious.

"You Mako?"

Mako sighed. The kid pronounced his name "Mah-ko," not "May-ko." "It's Mako," he corrected. "Yeah, you found 'em."

The kid smiled. "Jamison Fawkes, at your service," he tipped the rim of his hat. "I'm a mechanic, a builder of mechs, admirer of explosions, and you, you're in need of a mechanic, aren't'cha?" He didn't wait for Mako to reply. "Now that I'm here, you don't have to worry about a thing." Jamison began to walk forward, for about half a foot into Mako's home before a large hand gripped his shoulder and pushed him back.

"Hold up, kid." Mako kept his grip on his shoulder to assert himself. "Walkin' in here like you own the place, who do you think you are?"

Jamison blinked in confusion. "Sorry, mate. Thought ya needed a mechanic."

Mako removed his hand. "I do. But I don't know you. Never seen you before. Don't know if you can even build me a mech."

A loud single cackle broke from Jamison's throat and it made Mako flinch and scrunch his nose up. "Listen here, big guy, I can _build_  you a mech. Just you watch."

Mako glared from behind his mask. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Nope." Jamison was playing with his nose hoop. "Just heard ya needed a mechanic."

Mako sighed. He knew this was a mistake, but he was desperate. He didn't believe that this kid could build him anything; he didn't have any supplies with him, and he didn't seem too bright.

"Fine. Let's talk."

Mako took him inside. The younger man made himself right at home and got comfortable on the couch; he propped his leg up and crossed it over his knee and leaned back. Mako noticed then that the man had a pegleg, which was...odd. The blond tapped his chin with index finger and closed his eyes. Thinking? About what?

"What are you doing?" Mako finally asked, though more irritated with the man than curious.

"Ah, right, just trying to picture you battling mechs." Jamison opened one eye and looked at Mako. "Yeah I can definitely see it." He grinned and hopped up from his seat and clapped his hands together. "Alright! Lemme just go bring my stuff in, and I'll get to work!"

Mako caught him by the shoulder as he headed passed him. "Hold up, you're not building a mech in my house. Go to the warehouse."

Jamison's eyes went wide and he looked like a child. "Warehouse…? As in, a workshop? With all those presses and drills and tools?"

Mako sighed and pushed the kid away from him as he was leaning closer and closer. "Yeah, just...give me a minute." Mako wrote down the address of the warehouse. It wasn't used often, since his last mechanic didn't go there much; preferred to build in his own area and not a dirty warehouse.

Jamison took the small slip of ripped paper and grinned excitedly. "Oh awesome! I've never had an actual workshop before!"

"Easy now." Mako grunted. "I own this place. Don't claim it as your own, kid."

"Right! Yes sir!" Jamison saluted him with a proud smile. "I'll head over there tonight and get all set up."

Mako nodded. "I'll be by in the morning."

With that, Mako sent the blond on his way. He shut the door and sighed heavily. The felt drained; that kid...he had more energy to make up for the both of them.

/

Jamison followed the GPS on his phone and eventually found the warehouse. It wasn't exceptionally big or anything, but anything was better than nothing. The front door opened with a squeaky creak and Jamison peeked his head in. The air felt heavy and thick with dust — a sign that no one had been there in a long time.

At least the lights still worked, and then came on with a click. Three long overhead lights flickered on and buzzed quietly. Jamison looked around. There was a drill, a press, a red toolbox, a bench with rulers and markers scattered about. Also on the table there was a notebook, or more accurately, a sketchbook. Being the curious type, Jamison of course opened it to look. Inside were sketches of a mech. An interesting design, looked sturdy and well armed. Jamison was rarely impressed by others, but this design could be something good. Jamison grabbed a nearby pencil and began scribbling on the page. He guessed the owner of the book had no need of it, since they left it behind. How careless and rude, but Jamison, he wouldn't abandon it. He'd take good care of this.

After a few hours, Jamison had eventually redrawn the entire mech, with his own modifications of course. He wrote out descriptions in his own messy handwriting, wrote down ideas, mods, colors, tools he'd need, parts that were required, and eventually, he fell asleep right on the desk, early in the morning, halfway through writing a sentence, still with the pencil in his hand.

/

The next morning, Mako went to the warehouse to check in on the brat. He found the place practically untouched except for the desk.

'This kid...' Mako was annoyed. 'Is he just using me to squat? He better not—' Mako then saw that Jamison had fallen asleep on a notebook. Upon closer inspection, he found that Jamison had drawn out plans, detailed, elaborate plans, for a mech.

'This kid, he...'

Suddenly Jamison yelled in his sleep and startled Mako, and not much could startle the wall of a man. It didn't stop there either. Jamison flinched, and then fell off the wobbly stool and hit the floor. Mako did nothing. perhaps he should have, but he didn't. Jamison groaned as he had his rough awakening and rubbed at his sore cheek. 

"Why'd ya do that, huh? There are better ways to wake a man up y'know..."

Mako stared at him in awe. "Did that on your own, idiot. It's what'cha get for sleeping on a stool."

"Be quiet." Jamison stood to his feet. "Anyway, why're ya here?"

Mako hesitated. 'Is he serious...?' Did the kid forget that he was going to come by? "How hard did you hit your head?"

"Uh... What?"

"I told you last night that I'd be here in the morning. Did you forget?"

Jamison looked dumbfounded for moment before he gasped. "That's right! Sorry mate, must'a slipped my mind." He broke into a small fit of nervous giggles.

Weird kid.

"Whatever." Mako sighed. "So, what do you think?"

"'bout what?"

Mako felt his patience running thin. "The warehouse..." he tried not to growl under his breath.

"Oh! Well uh, I actually haven't had a chance to look around much. I found this notebook," he turned and picked the book up, "and I started doodling around in it."

"I saw. Looks like you improved Mike's mech."

"Mike?" Jamison tilted his head.

"My old mechanic. A bastard." Mako shook his head. "Forget about him, let's talk about this mech." He stepped closer to the table and moved the sketchbook with his hand so he could see the sketches better.

"So, already have an idea for my mech?" Mako asked.

"Yep!" Jamison beamed, he leaned against the desk and crossed his arms across his chest. "Tons of Ideas actually. Say, how come you're always wearin' that mask?"

Mako raised his eyebrows and looked at the younger male. "Don't change the subject. What do you need for this mech? Anything I need to bring in?

Jamison frowned from being shut down, but he turned his attention to the sketches. "Some strong nuts and bolts, probably. Long ones." He tapped his finger against his protruding chin. "Got a blowtorch around here?"

"Think so, you'll have to look around. I don't come in here that often."

Jamison scoffed and sneered. "Well don't you spend a lot of time with your mechanics, I'm touched."

Mako glared at him through fogged lenses. "A mechanic's job is to build a good mech, _my_  job is the battle it. Nothing more. No reason for me to know anything else."

Jamison huffed again and mumbled under his breath. "No wonder your last mechanic bailed."

His statement made Mako's blood boil. A large hand suddenly gripped the front of Jamison's shirt and pulled him up, inches away from Mako's mask.

"Listen here, kid, you better watch your mouth, or else—"

"Or else what? Huh?" Jamison grinned as he coiled his fingers around Mako's thick wrist. "Find yourself another mechanic? Ya only got a few days until your oh-so-important fight, and all ya got is little ol' me, ain't that right?"

Mako grit his teeth tight, dropped the blond back to his feet, and roughly shoved him aside so he bumped into the desk.

"Get to work on that mech. _You_  only have a few days." He didn't say anything more, and angrily stormed out of the warehouse, slamming the door behind him. Jamison winced at the loud noise, and that grin he previously wore had flipped into a saddened frown.

He fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this AU. Let me know if you're diggin' it too!
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
> Thank you.   
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	2. Ill-Placed Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Enjoy chapter 2!  
> 

The lights in the workshop were off and Jamison wasn't there. It was early in the morning, so the kid was probably still asleep, wasting his time. Wasting _Mako's_  time, and that — that was a scary thing. He headed inside and towards the workbench; it was neatly organized and cleaned off. In fact, the entire room seemed unusually clean. He didn't peg the kid as a particularly clean man, judging from his ripped jeans, dirty hat, and holey hoodie, so he didn't think he'd keep other things clean either.

The only thing that wasn't neat was a pile of papers in the center of the desk; they looked as if they had been hastily lumped together before being left alone. Mako saw drawings of a mech on the top page and got curious. He stepped forward to get a closer look, and saw several sketches of various mech parts. Not only that, but detailed descriptions of parts he'd need, how things work, what things did. So much of it Mako didn't even understand; it looked so...complicated. Did the kid really know what he was doing?

He dropped the large bag of supplies that Jamison asked him to get off of his shoulder and placed it by the desk. His part was over, he'd helped enough, now it was Jamison's turn to deliver.

/

Jamison was at a local scrap yard. A place where old discarded mechs were thrown away and forgotten. If he was being honest, it was sad; he loved building mechs and repairing them, and he'd repair all of them if he had the time and resources, but he didn't. So, he'd do the next best thing.

He spent hours in the sun, collecting various parts from different mechs, building up his inventory with everything he could practically need to build a big, strong mech. Oh he could picture it now, the finished product, and Mako eating his words and praising him.

He used a cart he found in the scrapyard to pile all of his materials onto and haul it around. Although that didn't make it less comfortable; the sun was blazing and made him hot down to his bones, not to mention with all the scrap and sharp pieces around, he obtained several cuts from crawling in and out of broken mechs. A few of the workers there were giving him confused looks, one even attempted to ask if he was alright, but he ignored them as if they didn't exist.

By time he got back to the workshop, it was past noon and he was tired from lugging all the parts there. He wasn't weak but metal and material was heavy, not to mention he had to push it to the shop himself.

Allowing himself to relax for a moment, he slumped onto the stool, spun around, and then rested his head down on the cool wooden surface of the desk; it felt wonderful against his sun-kissed skin, and he closed his eyes. He was exhausted, hot, sweaty, but he didn't have a lot of time to rest.

When he moved to get up, his foot kicked something under the desk that made a rattling noise. Curious, he reached under and pulled it out. The bag Mako had left him earlier that morning, so he opened it to see what it was.

"This is…" he mumbled to himself as he pulled out a handful of long bolts. He scoffed. "So, he can be nice, eh?" Despite his tone, there was a little smile on his lips; not a condescending one, but an actual smile.

The next hours considered of welding, hammering, reworking metal to the shape that he wanted. Using the materials that Mako brought him and finally making something that looked like the beginning of a mech. He had his sketches scattered around the floor, with the ones he needed closest to him as he worked.

While he bolted things together, he made a mental note to get some wires. Actually, a lot of wires, and springs too. Maybe he could ask Mako to get them for him? Of course he could, but Mako wouldn't do it; he seemed like he didn't care about his engineers or helping them much. That's why the last one left, right? Or was Jamison just making that up? He couldn't remember. It didn't really matter though, he'd get them himself so Mako didn't get mad at him again.

/

Mako couldn't believe it. Again, this kid had fallen asleep in the workshop, this time he was on the floor, splayed out among the tools, scrap, and a partly constructed piece of the new mech. The kid was already working, and working hard from what Mako could see. Although, Mako never really went to see his previous mechanic, so he never saw the mech beforehand and didn't know much about the process of constructing them. The warehouse was the mechanic's place, not his, and he didn't see a reason to come here. Except this time it was different; he was desperate and time was running out, so he had to make sure that this kid was doing his job.

He sighed and ignored the sleeping man and stepped close to the partially built mech, but his foot hit a metal piece of scrap that was on the floor and sent him stumbling into the desk with a grunt. Immediately he heard Jamison startle awake from the loud noise. The kid hit his head on a portion of the desk that was protruding to the side as he jolted up from the floor, hissing in pain while he rubbed the area to soothe it.

Mako knew that he himself just fell into a desk, but this kid seemed extremely clumsy for a mechanic. Just in the last twenty-four hours he's hit his head twice; once on the floor and once on the desk. Was it really okay to let his career ride on him? Not like he had much of a choice though, maybe after the next match, but right now he had to have at least a little faith in this kid.

"Fuck that hurt..." Jamison rubbed his head where a red mark was forming.

"Do you always cause such a commotion when you wake up?" Mako straightened up his mask a little.

Jamison pursed his lips into a small pout. "No. Only when big-footed blokes like you go wakin' me up."

"Yesterday was y—" Mako stopped himself before getting into it with this kid and grit his teeth. "Never mind. How's the mech coming?"

Jamison kept that narrowed, playful expression, stood up, and brushed his clothes off. "It's goin' good. I see ya brought some of the stuff I asked for. Yer a real doll for bringin' those to me." Jamison chuckled as he stretched his arms over his head, and then went to the workbench to look over his sketches.

"You don't have long." Mako narrowed his eyes on him. He didn't much like how friendly this kid was being; it stank of sarcasm.

"Yer big battle is on Saturday, yeah? It's only Thursday evenin', so don't ya worry 'bout a thing—"

"You better not be using me."

Jamison paused and slowly sat the drawings down. He didn't turn to Mako, but god did it feel like he was staring at him.

"What would I be usin' ya for? You've been nothin' but mean, and it's not like yer doin' me any favors."

"You're sleeping in my warehouse, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

Jamison stayed still. "That's right," he paused for a moment, "wouldn't have ta if you weren't bein' so demandin' of lil old me."

Mako clenched his large fists. This kid was getting under his skin fast, and that tone of voice — the brat knew it too.

"Listen you—"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jamison threw his hands up in front of his chest when Mako took a threatening step towards him. He chuckled nervously through a forced, toothy smile. "Ya don' have ta say it, I know. I have until Saturday to build yer mech." Mako relaxed his imposing stance. "Promise, I won' let ya down."

Mako readjusted his mask and breathed heavily through it. "Fine." Jamison sighed as well, but his attention was grabbed when Mako spoke again. "But, you have a long way to go, and you only have until Friday night." He grinned. "Better get to work."

"Yes sir, Mr. Rutledge sir!" Jamison saluted him and he stood up straight. Odd. Mako didn't notice how tall and skinny this kid was at first. Oh well, it wasn't important.

Mako left Jamison to his work again, and Jamison was hard at it as well. After all, he didn't have time to mess around. The brat didn't seem at all bothered that he had just about twenty-four hours left either. Too cocky for his own good.

/

Mako didn't visit the next morning, and spend his morning packing for Saturday. That kid, Jamison, better have been working last night. Today was the last full day he had so he shouldn't be fooling around.

When it came time to go to the warehouse, Mako came over with his bag full of things. This time, the warehouse was lit up and there was a strong smell in the air; WD-40, he guessed. He was stunned by the progress that Jamison had made on the mech, and at first, he didn't even see him until he walked further into the building, heard some noise, and peeked around the leg of the mech. The blond was kneeling and muttering to himself as he used the blowtorch on a section of the leg.

The idiot wasn't even wearing a mask, was he trying to get himself killed?

"Hey!" Mako shouted, stepped towards Jamison in an attempt to grab his arm. He startled him in the process but the blond recovered quickly and steadied on his foot and pegleg, with that still-blazing blowtorch waving around as he wobbled backwards some.

"Whoa, watch it!" Mako yelled and grabbed the man's skinny arm successfully. He took the blowtorch away, turned it off, and set it on the desk.

"Hey mate! Mornin'!" Jamison laughed.

Mako squinted at him. God that laugh could wilt flowers. Something struck Mako though; Jamison had dark bags under his eyes, his pupils were small, and his lips were dry and cracking as well. He wasn't just working hard, but he was sleep-depriving himself to finish this mech, and not taking care of himself either. Mako sighed and dug through his bag, pulled out a water bottle, and shoved it at Jamison's face.

"Drink it." Jamison stared at Mako, but took the bottle anyway.

Mako brought out some chairs that he found in the shop and they sat across from each other. Jamison had downed half the bottle of water while he sat, and Mako only recently took his out of his bag.

Now that Jamison got a little hydration and calmed down, Mako was able to study him a bit closer. His hair had oil in it that stained his forehead as well. Jamison wasn't wearing a shirt and not only was his skin covered in oil and grease, but he had several red cuts all over his arms and torso, even on his face now that he looked.

The kid looked exhausted.

"How's the mech coming?" Mako asked and broke the seal on the bottle.

"Good. Good…" Jamison wasn't looking at him until he heard the seal snap and ring in his ears; he was too tired. Golden eyes watched Mako as he pushed his mask up just slightly to take a drink. His lips were thick and he had white stubble on his chin and jaw. Jamison watched his throat move as he swallowed, and then eyed the river of water that dribbled down Mako's chin before the back of his hand wiped it away. There was a scar down the left side of his mouth, Jamison noticed.

"Will it be done tomorrow?"

Jamison watched his mouth as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, brat." Jamison flinched when Mako's voice got rougher and blinked frantically. Damn did his eyes burn, he needed to rest. "Pay attention."

"Y-Yeah, of course. Mech'll be done tomorrow. Nearly done. Could've done a nice paint job too but we're in a rush."

"Don't need it to look pretty."

Jamison narrowed his eyes. He had about a hundred questions running through his exhausted brain.

"So mate, how come ya, um, always wearin' that pig mask? Got somethin' to hide?"

Mako's body went visibly stiff, and then he yanked the mask down roughly. "Mind your own fucking business."

Jamison felt his heart sink, though he didn't understand why.

"We're not friends, don't think we are. Just do your job and don't try to play buddy-buddy with me." His words made Jamison scoff and cross his arms. What a jackass.

"You look like shit," Mako spat, "and you're useless if you don't do well. Go home and come back later." Mako grabbed his bag and left without another word. The heavy door slammed shut behind him and Jamison flinched.

There was that feeling again. _Loneliness._  He knew it all too well, but it felt worse than it ever had before. It was clear that Mako didn't care about him, but he had hope — blind, ill-placed faith that Mako would open up to him during the week, but it seemed to only get worse. Jamison thought that if he worked hard, Mako would praise him; reward him for his good work, but it felt like hell would freeze over before that would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|  
>  **Thanks for reading!**  
>  Please remember to leave  
> a comment. It keeps us  
> writers alive and happy.  
> Thank you.  
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿|
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	3. "Date"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Sorry for the inconsistent updates. I suck at consistency.  
> 

'Go home.'

Jamison remembered the words and they stung deep, like a fresh cut getting touched. What was "home" for him, he wondered. It started to rain on him while walking to where he called home. Puddles on the ground splashed up onto his legs and chilled him, his hair dampened and the gel loosened, making his hair less spiky.

Once he was outside the city, he turned off the road and went down a hill, coming under an overpass that provided shelter from the storm. A blue tarp was pinned up against the concrete wall and pegged into the ground. There was a ragged, dirty blanket under it with some random trinkets lying around; one being a clock he built from broken spare parts.

Home.

He was soaked to the bone and shivering by time he got under the tarp. The wind had gotten stronger and he curled up as far back in the tarp as he could go. The concrete behind him was freezing, but it was better than the wind hitting him. His clothes were soaked as well, so he peeled them off of his damp skin and wrung them out, and laid them out to dry; if they even could in this shitty weather.

At least his mechanic's jumpsuit was mostly dry, just cold and damp feeling. He put it on and laid down on the blanket, wrapped one end around himself and curled up like he was in a cocoon.

It was cold and uncomfortable and that made it hard to sleep. Uneven ground made his back rise in different areas, small rocks jutted into his skin through the blanket. It wasn't much, and it wasn't comfortable in the least, but it was what he had. It was home.

After getting just a few hours of sleep, he didn't really feel better. He'd been working so much the last few days, non-stop, almost going without food. Somehow he knew that this project was important to Mako, though he wasn't sure of the specifics, and he doubted Mako would tell him even if he asked.

The man was so distant and kept to himself. Jamison only saw him for a few minutes when he came back to make sure he wasn't fucking anything up. He had no trust and no faith in Jamison, and that made him very angry.

Thoughts like, _"Doesn't 'e know what this job means for me?"_  would go through his head. But no, of course not. Mako wouldn't know; he couldn't. He never asked, and Jamison never tried to tell him. Mako didn't need to know that his new engineer was homeless and flat broke, and yet Jamison was angry with him for not understanding and being more friendly. He thought about telling him as he walked back to the warehouse, thinking that, just maybe, if he _did_  talk to Mako, he wouldn't dodge him so much.

But...then he remembered that every time he did try to talk, he was shut down almost immediately. Mako made it clear from the beginning; he wasn't looking for a friend.

It was still raining heavily so once again he was drenched by time he got to the warehouse. He unzipped the front of his mechanic suit and tied the arms around his waist, picked up a wrench, grabbed his sketches, and went to work.

/

Mako finished packing his bag, shoving some large pants into a worn-out suitcase and then zipping it shut.

Today was the day; the day he had to take that little brat out of town with him for the event. He knew what it meant, since it happened with Mike as well. They'd be put up in a nice hotel, forced to spend time together, and now Mako knew that this coming week would be filled with Jamison's relentless questions and that shrill giggle of his. Mako wasn't sure he could survive seven days.

He told himself he'd go back around three in the afternoon, and after taking the few minute walk from his apartment to the warehouse, Mako arrived and stepped inside. Now, Mako was a hard one to surprise, not much caught him off guard, but when he went in and saw the sight before him, his jaw actually dropped behind his mask.

The mech looked done. Mostly, anyway. It wasn't very big, which was good because that made it easier to transport, but it looked intimidating. There was a gun on the right, a blade on the left.

Where the fuck did this kid find a sword? Mako supposed it was better not to ask.

Just like last time, Jamison didn't acknowledge that Mako had entered. He just kept focused on his work until Mako cleared his throat. The blond poked his head up over the top of mech.

"Oh hey Mako, didn't even see ya come in!"

That was obvious. So were the thick dark bags under Jamison's eyes.

"Is it done?"

"Nah not yet. Almost! Just gotta make some lil' adjustments." Jamison went back down and disappeared behind the mech. "Could'a made this look nicer, y'know. Painted, nice design, if I had more time."

Mako processed his words for a moment. "You already told me that yesterday."

Jamison froze for just an instant, and then chuckled nervously. "Haha! Really? Must'a forgot! My ol' brain must not be runnin' on all cylinders!"

Yeah, another obvious thing.

Just how much was this kid working? Was he even sleeping? It didn't look like it. Mako thought about it, and almost started to feel bad for the guy, but before that could go too far, he heard a loud growling from behind the mech.

"… Was that your stomach?" Mako asked and stepped around the mech to look down at him skeptically.

"Heh, yeah…" Jamison looked embarrassed, like he was ashamed of it.

"When was the last time you ate?'

Jamison shrugged his shoulders and mumbled. "I dunno."

Mako sighed. Kid couldn't even remember when he last ate. "Fine. Get ready and clear yourself up a bit, you're coming to lunch with me."

Jamison hopped up, eyes wide like he'd just witnessed something amazing. Mako recognized this expression; it was the same one he had when he told Jamison about the workshop. He was so excited.

"You payin'?" Jamison asked.

"Well you don't have any money, do you?" Mako rolled his eyes and sighed again. "Come on, let's go."

/

It was rather surprising to Jamison really; Mako seemed so cold to him for the entire week, but to treat him out to lunch, _and_  pay for it out of his own pocket? Maybe he was finally cracking that hard exterior that Mako always had up.

Probably not. Mako just wanted to keep the idiot alive; he already lost one engineer, he couldn't lose another.

The diner that Mako took him to was right now the street; small and cozy, and the food was great and they served huge portions. Mako sat down at a booth and Jamison slid in on the side across from him, he grabbed one of the menus from the table and started to look through it. Jamison picked up one of the menus as well.

"Order whatever you want."

Jamison giggled. "Whatever I want, huh? You try'na woo me?"

Mako closed his eyes in annoyance. "Just order."

He giggled again and it made Mako wince. "Yer embarrassed, I get it."

"Shut up and order."

Jamison knew better than to push it further; Mako was starting to rip the menu down the center. He had to admit though, it was fun to tease and poke the big guy.

In all honesty, Jamison wasn't used to being treated, or eating at a fancy place to begin with. He couldn't remember the last time he ate at a restaurant. After a minute, Mako put his menu down, but Jamison spent several more just looking over all of the foods.

What should he get? There were so many choices and frankly it was overwhelming. When he glanced up, he saw Mako—presumably—staring right at him, and he chuckled nervously.

"I dunno what to get…"

"You can build a mech from scratch but you can decide what you want to eat?"

Jamison pouted, though he knew it was true. "So...what are you getting?"

Mako knew where this was going. "Cheeseburger."

"I'll get it too, then!"

God this kid was exhausting. "Fine," Mako sighed. It would be easier this way though.

The waitress came over to take their order. Mako ordered two cheeseburgers, and a beer, then looked to Jamison.

"What do you want to drink?"

More decisions? Jamison looked down at the cover of the menu. "I'll just have a beer too."

The waitress wrote it down and then went on her wait. Mako turned to Jamison.

"Why are you copying me?"

Jamison lowered his head. "M'not tryin' to. Just not used to this sort of thing, y'know?"

Mako didn't honestly care. "Whatever."

Jamison didn't have a witty comeback; he felt a little defeated by Mako's words and attitude, so he sat there and distracted himself by scrolling through various websites on his phone, mainly sites for buying fancy mech and robot parts. He couldn't buy anything; he wasn't exactly rolling in cash, but he could look and dream. Mako was watching him the entire time, he could make out some of what he was looking at, but it was hard to tell upside down. Jamison really enjoyed his work, it seemed...

When their meals came, Jamison shoved his phone into the pocket of his hoodie. The woman placed their plates in front of them and Jamison's jaw dropped. The burger was huge and quite honestly he didn't know if he could fit all of it into his stomach. The waitress placed their beers down and wished them a good meal, and then left them to eat.

Mako picked up the burger with one hand, lifted his mask slightly, and bit into it. Jamison watched him chew and then swallow, and then repeat it.

"Stop watching me eat," Mako commanded. "Start eating. And eat all of it. You need it, you're too thin."

"Awh are ya worried about me?" Jamison poked with a playful grin.

"No," Mako was blunt. "You're no use to me if you're in a hospital or dead."

Silence fell over them and Jamison felt that defeated feeling again. Mako shut him down so easily and he hated it. He decided that saying anything more would make Mako angry, so he started eating.

Despite the awkward tension in the air, Jamison actually very much enjoyed his burger. It felt good to have real food — good food, made for him. Not to mention paid for by another.

"Hey mate," Jamison started with a softer tone than usual. "Seriously though, isn't it hard ta eat with that mask halfway on yer face?"

"No."

"But, I—"

"I said no, now shut up. I thought you learned not to ask about my mask." He took an irritated drink of his beer.

Jamison anxiously toyed with his napkin. "Sorry…" he apologized, and Mako didn't respond.

The silence from before came back and they ate without so much as looking at each other. That was extremely hard for Jamison, since he wanted to talk, wanted to ask questions and get to know Mako more. He had an idea, but at this point it was a fifty-fifty chance that Mako would get mad.

"So…" Mako already tensed just from hearing Jamison's voice. God what did this kid want now? "This, mech battle thing, right? What's it all about?"

Mako was fairly surprised. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"

"Nope," Jamison answered almost proudly. It was Mako's fault that he didn't know, after all. "Have no idea. Guessin' you and a bunch of other old geezers bet on battles."

"Watch it, kid," Mako growled. He lowered his mask over his mouth and leaned forward on the table a little. Jamison immediately got more interested from the secretive demeanor that Mako had taken.

"Though, you're half right. We bet on battles, but this isn't just some small gathering. We're preparing for a championship."

Jamison perked up. "Championship?"

"Yeah, this first battle is nothing, I win every year, and then I go to the next round. That's what we're doing tonight."

"Wait...so, tonight you're battling my mech?"

"That's right. Better hope it works."

Mako was grinning under his mask.

/

After dinner, they went back to the workshop. Jamison immediately went back to the mech and started tinkering.

Mako felt a bit devious. "Thought it was done?"

"I didn't say it was!" Jamison hissed and glared at him. "Told ya I needed to make some little adjustments. Yer just gonna have ta wait!"

Mako crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Fine; if this kid delivered, that's all that mattered. Ten minutes was what it took, though Mako had no idea what Jamison actually did.

"Well, is it done now?" he asked.

"Yep!" Jamison beamed. He was covered in dirt and oil again, and he thoughtlessly ran his hand through his hair and dirtied it. He suddenly held out something to Mako.

"Here. This is how ya control it. Ever play a video game? Buttons and sticks? Well same concept. Just point an' shoot."

"And the sword?"

Jamison chuckled. "Two things. Block and attack. Block with the left trigger on the back, attack using the button with that little sword icon."

Mako took the controller. He had a moment where he just stared at Jamison. He didn't realize just how smart the kid was, and in truth he didn't care. He shoved the controller into his bag and then placed it on the ground.

"Gather whatever tools you want to bring, I'll load up the mech onto my bike."

"Bike? Yer puttin' it on a bike?"

"Don't have a truck. Just be quiet and pack up."

Jamison grumbled in annoyance but did as told. As he packed some small tools and his sketches, he watched Mako go over to the mech. The man bent down, wrapped his large arms around the mech and lifted up. The muscles in his arms bulged, and were clearly on display since Mako wore a cut-off white t-shirt.

Jamison didn't realize how strong Mako was, but fuck did he know now. He wouldn't lie to himself and say it wasn't impressive.

And attractive.

Dammit he didn't need to be thinking like this. Mako hated him, that was painfully obvious, and he still didn't know much about him since the guy hated talking.

"Jamison."

What would it take to get Mako to open up to him even just a little bit? Jamison started to wonder what Mako would even enjoy talking about, if anything.

"JAMISON!"

The blond flinched.

"Stop staring at me and open the door. I asked you twice already." Mako was standing there holding the mech by the door, waiting for Jamison to open it.

Did he? Jamison didn't hear anything. Was he really that deep into his thoughts? Well...that's embarrassing.

There was a light blush on his cheeks as he held the door open for Mako, and even then he couldn't not stare at his arms and back in that tight shirt. God this guy was just a thick wall of muscle, and big. Jamison liked it; he had a type and he wouldn't deny that, and this one fit that type to a T.

Once Mako was out, Jamison shut the door and sighed heavily. He felt like a fool, but he didn't waste time thinking about it. He finished gathering his things and then met Mako outside.

The bike...was not what he expected. The thing looked like it was held together by duct tape, and Jamison knew the many uses of duct tape and was fond of the product, but jeez Mako should let him work on the bike as well.

Mako lifted the mech into the sidecar and fastened it in with bungee cords, and then went back for his bag. Jamison, however, took the opportunity to inspect the bike. It was rusted and old, nothing like the high-tech vehicles on the market these days; everything floated or flew, but this thing had regular old tires and ran on gas. Jamison appreciated it a lot; he loved old stuff like this.

"Planning on deconstructing my bike?" Mako asked when he saw Jamison bent over the seat and looking at the gas tank.

"N-No." Jamison quickly spun around. "It could use some work though."

"Let me make this clear." Mako walked right up to Jamison, almost close enough to touch his belly to his. "You touch my bike, I'll break your wrists."

Jamison swallowed. "Yes sir. Won't touch it, ya have my word."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder when Mako will stop being a jackass to Jamie.
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
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> 
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	4. Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  I got this one written real fast after chapter 3, which is highly usual.  
> Enjoy.  
> 

"Get on the back."

Jamison heard the request but it did strange things to him. Mako wanted him to...what? Sit behind him on the bike? Didn't he realize that would mean Jamison pressed against his back? His arms wrapped around him? His crotch against his—

No, no no no Jamison. _Bad._ / He wanted to smack himself for where his idiot mind was going. Meanwhile Mako was glaring at him through those foggy lens and getting annoyed.

"Jamison, get on, or I'll shove you in the sidecar with the mech."

"Okay okay, jeez," Jamison grumbled and trudged over to the bike, but even then he still hesitated. What could he say? He was nervous. Nervous to touch Mako; nervous to get so close. Not to mention that there wasn't even that much room on the back of the bike, even if he was skinny.

Jamison placed his hand on Mako's shoulder and threw his leg over the bike. And _god_  did it feel strange. He wouldn't ever admit it but, well, he'd never had his legs around someone, in any situation, so to suddenly have his legs spread against this man's backside, it sent some sort of awful spark through his body that he hoped would stay under control.

Mako was warm to the touch; his body just emitted warmth like a radiator. It was comforting, but Jamison wished that Mako would open up a little more. As he thought about it, though, he realized that maybe he had chipped away a little of the wall that Mako had up. He was riding on the back of his bike, whereas he could have made Jamison ride a bus, or walk.

The engine started with a loud roar and rumbled under Jamison's body. He saw Mako look over some parts of the bike, and then knocked the kickstand up with his foot. Mako glanced back at Jamison and it alerted him, even with his mask on.

"Hold on," Mako instructed and shocked Jamison even more now.

Like...did he mean to hold onto _him?_  Around his belly? He did just that and snaked his hands under Mako's thick arms. Obviously he couldn't reach around to the front to lock his hands together, but he gripped Mako's shirt and just prayed that it'd be enough. Mako seemed to accept this and twisted the throttle some, making the bike move, and lifted his feet onto the pedals.

Jamison couldn't help it. Within minutes he felt his heart racing. The vibrations filled his entire body and cruising down a road thrilled him. And being pressed up against Mako? Oh that made it better. Or worse, depending on how he looked at it. The part of him that was crushing on Mako was on cloud nine, enjoying how Mako's body moved with the bike and how comforting he felt. The man was built like a tank, and god did Jamison want to feel it more. He wasn't sure when he'd developed the crush, but it was painfully obvious, even to him, and he was usually oblivious to these sorts of things.

His body was starting to feel numb and his hands gripped and shifted at Mako's shirt, itching to touch him. It felt wonderful. Human contact, finally, and with his crotch pressed right up against Mako's back, he couldn't help his hips from rocking slightly.

Fuck he was horny. He needed to get off of this bike and fast.

But it wasn't happening. A half hour passed, then forty minutes. Jamison was hurting now, and he just hoped Mako didn't notice. The vibrations weren't helping either, in fact it was making everything even worse. He felt like he could cum from that alone if this kept up for much longer. At least the engine and sound of other vehicles deafened his little moans.

Luckily, Mako veered off of the highway and stopped for a moment.

"Bathroom?" Mako asked him.

"Huh? Y-Yeah! I have to go!" Jamison said and thanked all the gods that Mako had stopped.

Just a few miles down the road there was a rest stop and Mako headed towards it. No one else was there, which was perfect. After Mako parked his bike and turned the engine off, Jamison laughed loudly.

And Mako had almost forgotten that obnoxious laugh.

"Thanks mate! I was about to burst!" Jamison played off his erection as a desperate need to pee and wobbled towards the building with his hands between his thighs. Mako shook his head and sighed. This kid was a pain. Mako didn't have to go so he sat on his bike. Once Jamison was inside the building, he daringly lifted his mask off of his face and let his skin breathe. It was hot and sweaty, so the wind and cool evening air felt nice. His mind started to wander, to a horrible place though.

Jamison. That guy was...something. He irritated Mako and made him angry, but he was smart, probably smarter than Mako was. And even more, Jamison brought something out in him that he hadn't felt in...well, never, he didn't think. Not even Mako, with all his dislike towards Jamison, could deny that it felt nice to have someone close, physically, clinging onto him so close, legs around him. If only he wasn't so annoying, Mako might actually like the guy a little...

/

" _Fuck..._ " Jamison leaned against the wall of the bathroom stall, pants around his ankles, hand gripping at his cock, and yanking it roughly. He bit his lip as he moaned. Dammit this was so embarrassing. What if Mako came in to use the bathroom as well? What if he heard him? What if he knew he had an erection the entire time? Jamison wanted these thoughts gone but they invaded his mind like a virus, but regardless he continued to stroke himself until he felt his thighs tremble and his lower abdomen tighten. He suppressed a moan that came out in a strangled whimper as he came into the toilet bowl.

It took him a minute to relax, but he felt better now that the poison was out. The heat in his body left and he just felt sweaty and gross. He knew he had to hurry or else Mako would likely come look for him.

Ha, that thought was hilarious. Mako would probably just leave without him.

Jamison used some toilet paper to clear himself off and then flushed, washed his hands, and jogged out of the place.

Mako watched him run back and come up to him. Something was a little off. Was Jamison's face red? Mako tried not to think about it. He wasn't going to question why it took Jamison so long either.

Jamison got back on the bike and Mako started it, and they were off.

/

When they arrived, it was dark and only the streetlights led the way. It took them an hour or so, but the second half of the ride was much more comfortable for Jamison, and now that they were in the town, he was so interested in the place that he didn't have time to fantasize about Mako. It was so different, much more lively than his hometown, even though it was late.

Mako drove up to the hotel and turned the bike off.

"Alright, get off," he instructed.

Jamison hopped off. "What now?"

Mako got up as well and went around to the side car. "You'll stand here with our stuff while I go park my bike. Don't let anyone steal anything. Can you manage that?"

Jamison pouted. "Have some faith in me, mate! Nothin' will happen on my watch!"

Mako doubted that but didn't have much of a choice. He unloaded all of their supplies and left them with Jamison.

He felt odd standing there by himself, as a few people stared at him as they walked by, some looked at his mech and they knew why he was there. As he looked around, he saw more and more people arriving with their own mechs.

It was like a convention. Just how big was this thing anyway?

Mako returned with a small cart and lifted the mech onto it. "Any problems?" he asked.

"Not a one!" Jamison answered and picked up his bag. "Say, there's quite a few people 'ere," he started as he walked beside Mako into the hotel, "this doesn't seem like a small-time thing..."

"Because it's not." Mako stopped at the front desk. "People from all over are here, we battle for the right to fight in the championship. There's betting here, but the championship is different."

"Different? How do ya mean?" Jamison inquired.

"Tell you later," Mako hushed as the woman came to the desk. Mako talked to her and gave her his info and said that he called in advance. Jamison paid no attention and was much more concerned with the mechs that were also coming in. Some of them were so polished and nice looking, though he knew from looking at them that they were weak. Some of them, though, were tough looking; clearly the engineers had more than a week to work on it.

Jamison started to feel embarrassed by his rusted and scrappy mech.

"I'm sorry sir, but it says here you reserved a one-bed."

Mako tried not to growl. "Please check again."

"Sir I'm looking at it. We have no free rooms at the moment."

Jamison heard the conversation and looked back at them. A one-bed? Great.

Mako wanted to rub his temples but he just sighed instead. "Fine, I'll take it." The woman nodded and finished up, and then handed him the key-cards. "Let's go," he said to Jamison has he pushed passed him.

Jamison picked up his bags again after he had set them down. The receptionist looked frightened by Mako, and Jamison couldn't blame her, so he smiled at her and she seemed to chuckle at him.

Mako led Jamison to an elevator and hit the button. It was obvious that Mako was angry from how his body looked; stiff and ridged.

"H-Hey mate, a one-bed isn't that bad," he said. He definitely wasn't thinking about sharing the bed with Mako and getting all cuddly with him. Not at all.

"Be quiet."

Jamison frowned and did just that. He wasn't in the mood to be a witty fuck back to him. His mind was short circuiting again from the realization of his crush and he was using every ounce of strength he had to keep it under control. Seeing as he failed miserably at it earlier, it was doubtful that he could keep it hidden for long.

The elevator came and they took it to the fourth floor and headed to their room. It was big, sure, but there was one king-size bed and a small couch. Jamison had a feeling where this was going.

"You sleep on the couch," Mako said and sat on the bed.

"How did I know you were gonna say that?" Jamison grumbled and went to the couch. Just sitting on it he could feel how uncomfortable it was. The cushions were hard and stiff. This wasn't going to be a fun weekend.

Mako started to relax. The silence was like heaven to him, but Jamison was on the verge of biting his nails from the tension; maybe it was just him since he was alone in a hotel room with the man that he was crushing on. Wasn't this how a lot of porn started? Two guys in a hotel room? Yeah, Jamison was sure he saw a porn like this once.

Just as Jamison was about to try to start a conversation, Mako's phone rang. He answered it and talked for a minute. He sounded annoyed, but as the conversation went on he seemed to relax, and then the called ended.

"Bad news?" Jamison asked.

"No. Good actually." Mako kicked his shoes off and laid back against the soft pillows. "That was the event manager. The battles have been postponed to tomorrow."

Jamison shifted some. "Isn't that a bad thing?"

"No. Happens every few years. They probably didn't schedule right. Not our problem."

Jamison hummed softly and watched Mako. He imagined that Mako had his eyes closed and was relaxing after a long ride, but with that mask on he had no way of knowing what sort of expression Mako had. Damn he was curious what that face was like. Did he look as angry as he was? Was he handsome? He sounded handsome.

"Stop staring at me," Mako growled from across the room. "What's your problem?"

"Nothin', jeez..." Jamison looked away, blushing but hoping that the dim lighting in the room obscured it.

"It's late. We should sleep."

Jamison stood up. "You can, but I'm gonna take a shower. Have so much dirt an' grime on me I feel like I weigh fifteen extra pounds."

Mako rolled onto his side and faced away from him. "Do what you want."

Jamison sneered at him and then went to the bathroom. In truth, he didn't feel that dirty, but...dirty in a different way. He didn't know what was wrong with him today, but just seeing Mako relaxing on the bed made him hot, and that made him remember the ride to the hotel. He was a young guy with hormones that flared up every once in a while, but now that he had a man near him that fit his type so well, he was practically going crazy.

It wasn't apparent to him over the week since Mako never stuck around for too long and Jamison was so focused on the mech, but going out to eat with him and riding on the back of his bike, well, that made it clear enough. Why else would he get so hot and have thoughts of Mako fucking him into that nice king-sized bed?

Fuck why this? Why _now_  when he had to be professional and provide a service?

Service, for Mako...

Jamison nearly slammed his face against the wall for even thinking it. Mako hated him. He _hated_  him, yet that just made Jamison think more. What if he could get close to him and butter him up?

He decided that a cold shower would be best since his body felt like it was burning, but the water hurt his skin, so he had to make it warmer. It felt great, actually. He'd been working so hard the past week and his body ached. The week was over, the mech was done; now it was up to Mako to battle it. His part was over. With that realization, Jamison could finally relax. God the stress; he could physically feel it leave his body, but he was anxious. What if the mech didn't work? What if it failed compared to the others? He'd never been a part of such a thing before, and god was it nerve-wracking.

He needed to relax, so his hands began to explore his naked body. He knew all his favorite spots and he quickly found himself shifting against the wall and moaning ever-so-quietly. When his thighs got tired, he slid down onto the floor of the shower area and leaned against the wall, spread his legs and started to stroke himself until he came. The stream felt wonderful, his body felt hot and wet from the inside out, and his skin felt tight.

He wondered, did Mako do this too when he was stressed? Did he have urges? Did he even remotely think about Jamison? He knew that last one was stupid of him to even wonder.

After his shower, he returned to the room. Mako was snoring a bit, but as he walked to the couch he heard Mako grunt awake.

"Sorry," Jamison apologized to him and sat on the couch. As expected Mako only grunted at him again and ignored him.

Jamison tried not to feel upset but he couldn't help it. That pesky crush that he had made it impossible for him to not be sad about the fact that Mako didn't like him, even just a tiny bit. It was bedtime, it seemed, so he laid down on the couch and tried to get comfortable. It wasn't, and he was cold. He tried hard to fall asleep, clutching his arms and shivering.

In the middle of the night, Mako woke up to use the bathroom, and when he came back and got comfy in bed, he heard something.

Whimpering.

He sat up and could just barely see Jamison's body in the light from the city outside. He was indeed whimpering, so Mako approached him. He was shaking.

'Cold?' His mind fought for just a second. The jerk side of him told him to just go back to bed, but the bigger, nicer side convinced him to do otherwise. He grabbed one of the blankets from the bed and then carefully tucked it around Jamison's shivering body. Almost immediately Jamison stopped shaking and he sighed in his sleep, rolling onto his back.

Mako stared down on him. His pale and clean face glowed in the low light, his mouth was open slightly as he breathed, and strands of blond hair poked up and some fell to the side. Mako couldn't believe what he was thinking.

Jamison...was kinda cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The seeds have been planted.  
> I know they should be wearing helmets while on the bike but come on this is RoadRat we're talking about.  
> Gross fact: Mako does not assume that Jamison masturbated in the rest-stop, but in fact thinks that he had to poop. I wonder which one Jamie thinks is more embarrassing.
> 
> \--
> 
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>  **Thanks for reading!**  
>  Please remember to leave  
> a comment. It keeps us  
> writers alive and happy.  
> Thank you.  
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	5. Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I told you I can't do consistent updates.  
> Anyway. Here's chapter 5.  
> I should rename this fic to "Jamie masturbates a lot."
> 
> Enjoy.  
> 

Jamison woke under the blanket. He was curled up into a ball not unlike what a cat when sleeping. The realization of there being a blanket on him didn't hit him at first, but oh did it come quickly. Several thoughts ran through his mind. How, why, who? Of course he knew who, but 'why?' especially was the biggest question he had.

Jamison didn't know how long he laid there in the morning just going over it in his head. He stared at the ceiling just repeating 'Mako did it' in his thoughts over and over again, yet he didn't believe it. How could he? Mako had been nothing but mean and rude to him, and he just couldn't picture Mako putting a blanket or him at all, and yet, there could be no other way.

It had to of been ten minutes at the least before he sat up and glanced over to the large bed. Mako was asleep, snoring, and on his back. The image of Mako tucking him in filled his mind and the part of him that was crushing hard on Mako allowed him to visualize it and he felt his heart flutter.

He couldn't get caught up in it though. Nerves were settling in, but they were good nerves, excited nerves. Today was the day that Mako would use his mech in battle. Sure, Jamison was nervous about the result, but he was also excited just to see Mako in action and use his creation, and while he had confidence in his work, but so did every other engineer here.

Jamison went to the bathroom after a few minutes, taking care to tiptoe passed Mako, who was still sleeping soundly. He stopped, and looked at Mako. Jamison wondered how the man could sleep with that mask on like that. Wasn't it uncomfortable? Didn't it hurt his face? Curiosity overtook him and so did the urge to remove that mask, but knowing Mako, he'd remove Jamison's head if he tried. Making the right choice, he continued on to the bathroom despite feeling irritated. He did his business and then came back out, only to see Mako sitting up in bed with his arms resting on his large belly.

"Mornin'," Jamison greeted him flatly, and Mako responded with a grunt. "Did I wake ya up?" he asked. Mako shook his head and said no. Jamison sighed and went to the couch; the guy was as distant as ever.

"So," Jamison had a tone like he was going to start something and it made Mako tense. "Why'd ya do it?"

"What?"

"You know what I mean." Jamison held the blanket up. "Blankets don't jus' move on their own." Mako was quiet. "Why'd ya do it?"

Mako shrugged and Jamison couldn't tell if he was looking at him or not, and it made him irked him.

"If yer only gonna be nice to me when I'm unconscious then don't be nice at all," he sighed, but when Mako didn't respond, he became more impish. "What, ya shy or somethin'?" he gave a cheeky grin at the implications.

"Should'a let you freeze."

Jamison's grin frowned. He grit his teeth and pushed himself up from the couch, and shoved his feet into his wore-out shoes. "Yeah, ya should'a, but ya didn't" he said. "I'm leaving."

Mako's eyes followed him as he walked to the door. "Event starts at noon, he told him."

Jamison scoffed. "Whatever," he grumbled, and slammed the door behind him as he left.

It was raining again, though thankfully not as hard as the other day. It wet his hair and made it lay down against his face, rainwater dripped down some of his bangs and slid down his face until he wiped at it with his hand. From a distance, one would think he was crying.

Who knew, in a way, maybe he was.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was lonely. He also knew that the crush he had on Mako started out of a need for friendship, companionship, and there was that awful physically need he had as well. He knew it was pointless though, since Mako seemed to grow more irritated with him by the day.

Usually, his friendly, cheeky personality caught people's attention, they would listen to him and show at least some interest, but with Mako it seemed like the complete opposite. He was rude, distant, and didn't seem to care about Jamison except for his ability to build a good mech. He had no reason to be so rude to someone who was helping him, and all without a paycheck as well.

Jamison grumbled about it for a while as he walked around town, though he didn't wander too far since he didn't know the area at all. He must have looked miserable; so many people looked at him and stared in curiosity. The water soaked him from head to toe, while everyone else had umbrellas or their hoods up, and he didn't even have a jacket.

When he checked his phone, it was a little after ten in the morning. Event starts at noon, and Mako probably wants to test drive the mech some before the battle.

'Better head back…' he thought and turned on his heels. His shoulders were slouched, hands in his pockets, and went back to the hotel.

Mako was waiting for him, and boy was he livid when he walked in drenched in rainwater.

"Are you done sulking around now? Can we get ready?"

Jamison scoffed. "Fine."

"'bout time." Mako stepped closer to him. "Take off your clothes."

Jamison almost inhaled his own spit and his cheeks reddened. "What?"

"You heard me, that 'em off."

"Ya gonna tell me why?" Jamison's voice became more shrill, nervousness filling his tone.

Mako rolled his eyes. "I'm not interested in you," he said rather harshly. "I'm gonna go dry your clothes and you're gonna sit in this hotel room and not move until I get back." He turned to face away. "Now take your clothes off."

At least he was giving Jamison some privacy, but Jamison still opted to go to the bathroom. He couldn't undress right next to Mako, just the idea made his heart and belly do flips. He removed his damp mechanic jumpsuit and got down to his underwear, and his fingers fidgeted at the hem.

…

Was he suppose to remove those as well? If not, he'd go without underwear because he couldn't wear them wet, but...having Mako see his underwear? That's embarrassing. He knew he had to swallow his pride and take them off, and eventually his clothes were balled up and he dropped them on the floor. Behind him was the shower area where there were large towels hung up, he grabbed one and wrapped it around his shoulders, grabbed his clothes, and left the bathroom.

Mako would have laughed when he saw him, laughed at the way Jamison seemed to squirm as he stood there with nothing but a towel covering him. His hair was still drenched and he looked like a drowned rat. Even so, just the fact that there was a half-naked man right in front of him sent a little spark into Mako's gut. The blond looked so uncomfortable, and Mako forgot all about how he stormed out earlier like an upset child, and now thought more about how he could make Jamison comfortable.

More pointless thoughts; had to dispose of them quickly.

"Give me those," Mako demanded and grabbed Jamison's clothing from him. "Stay here and wait for me."

Jamison gave a sarcastic laugh. "What else would I do? Run around town with my junk hangin' out?"

"Wouldn't surprise me."

Jamison scowled at him but Mako didn't pay him any attention, instead he simply grabbed his boots and left the room. Jamison figured that he'd have the next hour to himself, so why not relax in style?

He knew Mako would not be happy about it, and precisely that's why he did it — he sat on the soft and large bed, and then fell back against it, letting the towel unfold from him. Chilly air touched his skin and gave him goosebumps, so he rolled onto his side and curled up, pulling the towel around him and pressing his cheek into the pillow.

Something hit him. A scent. Mako's scent, and he opened his eyes wide. He couldn't describe it. It was a natural scent, but had a very slight touch of some sort of deodorant. It was a gentle smell but it was intoxicating. He groaned and turned his face further into the pillow and inhaled. This scent, it was Mako. He remembered it from when he was pressed against Mako's back on the ride here but it was weaker then; now it filled his nostrils and that's all he knew.

A hand wandered down of its own will and touched against his hips, groin, and then his cock; fingers around the head and squeezed as he began to tug. Within a minute moans started to come from his throat and he nibbled his lip to try to hush them, but no one was around; Mako was gone so why hide it?

Jamison inhaled the scent again and moaned louder, mouth open wide as he sped up his hand. His breathing hitched and his hand's movement became a bit more erratic, but within a few more seconds he came, spurting cum onto his thighs and the towel that luckily protected the bedding from his spunk. After he wiped his hand clean, he curled up again and sighed.

'That was good,' he thought and closed his eyes. Mako was like a drug to him; getting off had never been so easy for him. Usually he'd be tugging himself until he was red and raw, but now all he needed was that scent and picturing that large body, those big hands, and deep voice…

Jamison snapped open his eyes and jolted up quickly.

"What the hell am I doing!?" He shouted at himself and clambered off the bed to make sure none of his cum got on the sheets. He went to the bathroom, quickly washed his hands and grabbed a new towel.

How long had it been? He closed his eyes for only a second, right? He didn't fall asleep, did he? He couldn't remember, he knew he closed his eyes but time blurred between then and now and he couldn't tell. While he paced back and forth in the hotel room, clenching the towel around his body, he tried hard to remember what time Mako left, glancing to his phone every now and then as if that'd jog his memory.

He didn't have to wonder for long; Mako was heard using his card on the door and he entered shortly after. Jamison promptly plopped himself on the couch and tried not to look too obvious.

Mako took a few steps closer but as soon as he could focus on Jamison's face, he knew something was up. "What'd you do?" he assumed.

"W-What? I ain't done nothin' mate!" Jamison squawked. Mako rolled his eyes; he didn't have an interest in squeezing the answer out of him, but he knew the blond was hiding something.

"Here," Mako said and tossed a small bag towards Jamison, it landed beside him and he inspected it. As expected, it was his clothes, clean and dry. Meanwhile, Mako was inspecting him. He wouldn't admit it but he was looking at his legs. Jamison was lucky the towel was large because he had it around his shoulders, split at the front, so his legs were quite visible. Almost all the way up to his crotch, but the shadow hid anything farther up.

It'd been too long, that's all. That's the only reason why Mako was slightly interested and looking.

"Go get dressed. We leaving soon."

"Right!" Jamison jumped up and ran to the bathroom. It only took him a few minutes, and Mako in the meantime gathered everything he needed to take with him.

"Get all your stuff, we won't be back until late tonight."

Jamison listened and grabbed his bag filled with tools and spare parts, and joined Mako by the door where he was already moving the mech out into the hallway.

They took an elevator down to the lobby, and from there Jamison followed Mako. The event was set up down the street from the hotel, within walking distance. Many others were walking with their mechs, so it was hard to get lost. Jamison was excited to see all the mechs, every one looked different from the other, and then there was Jamison's; rusted scrap held together by old nuts and bolts and duct tape. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but Mako knew what he was doing, right?

Then again, he knew nothing of how Make fought, or what his style was. Knowing him, it was probably just completely destroy the opponent and don't give them an opportunity to hit back. Now that he thought of that, Jamison would have to modify the mech depending on what he learned from Mako today.

Following the crowd, they came to a large building. Inside they lined up, checked in, given badges, and then moved on to a big room that went down on an angle — an arena. In the middle there was a ring, with hundreds of seats surrounding it.

Mako looked at Jamison, who was leaning against a railing and gawking out over everything. He looked very much like an excited child seeing something amazing for the first time. Mako guessed he'd never been to something like this, so of course he'd have that sort of astonished innocence about him.

"Come on, let's go to our suite."

Jamison perked up at that and then jogged to catch up to Mako. On the bottom floor there were several rooms for each participant, and there were mechanics _everywhere_. Jamison never felt more at home nor so nervous before, but he had a sense of pride, and a sense of competitiveness creep up inside of him. He wanted to win, wanted Mako to win, and just from looking at the other mechs, he knew that he had to step up his game.

"Hey Mako," Jamison started as he watched people go by with their creations.

"Hm?"

"Ya said after this battle we go to a championship, if we win, right?"

Mako looked at him. "Sort of, yeah. There are more battles over this week," he answered.

Jamison turned his head and looked at Mako's mask. "Will I have a workshop wherever that championship is?"

Mako grinned. "The best in the world. State of the art."

That made Jamison giggle almost madly. "Oh this'll be fun! Just you wait Mako, I'll build ya the best most badass mech anyone's ever seen, and you'll destroy everyone!" he finished with another laugh.

Mako took in a breath. He couldn't deny it; he was excited. Hearing his engineer sound so excited about getting him the win? That's all Mako ever needed. Jamison may be annoying, difficult to manage, and that flirty impish behavior of his was going to be Mako's downfall, but he was smart and knew how to put stuff together. He practically pulled his mech right out of his ass; had less than a week to make something that could work, and he delivered. Mako knew he should be easier on the kid, but pushing him might just bring out the best in someone who was already pretty damn good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got to the mech stuff. Not much though. whoops. Next chapter, I promise!
> 
> \--
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
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> 
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	6. "Junkrat"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  No smut this time, haha. Just sappy stuff, mech battles, and Mako being pretty gay.  
> 

Teaching Mako how to drive and use the mech was a piece of cake. Mako was a quick learner, and Jamison had already told him the basics of it. It was nice to see his creation in the hands of the guy who was going to use it; made Jamison feel proud, especially since Mako seemed to like the mech. Mako stepped around it, inspecting it; sure it wasn't pretty, but Mako made it clear from the beginning that he didn't want or need pretty. Jamison respected that, in a way, all that truly mattered was the fight.

Mako reminded him that the event would start in thirty minutes, which gave them enough time to experiment with the mech and get Mako use to it, and that took no time at all. Most of that time was spent with Jamison going over the mech and tightening bolts as a last precaution, while Mako sat back with a drink that was, unfortunately, non-alcoholic, sipping it with his mask pushed up just slightly.

"There we go! Should be good ta go!' Jamison hopped up from his kneeling position on the floor and wiped some sweat from his brow, and Mako watched him. Jamison's mechanic jumpsuit was ripped and dirty, with small patches from various other article of clothing were sloppily sewn into the arms and pant-legs. He couldn't help it; Mako was curious when his eyes fell onto the pegleg. The blue pant-leg was pushed up to the knee and held there with a thin leather strap, revealing the piece of wood and metal.

Mako was never one to wonder about his mechanics. The last one was a clean cut guy who looked more like a businessman than an engineer, but he was good and that's all Mako cared about. Mike wasn't interesting, but Jamison? Jamison was interesting, not just because of that leg, but...something else made Mako curious. Something in his actions, his speech, his body…

Mako yanked his mask down with a quiet growl. Distractions were something that he couldn't afford this close to performing, but he could handle it; he could keep it all under wraps.

Lifting his heavy body up from the comfy couch and stepping over to Jamison, who was still tinkering with the mech despite saying it was ready; the boy just couldn't keep still could he? Always had to be doing something with his hands.

"Jamison." When he heard his name, Jamison perked up and he turned to attention quick.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you have, uh…" Mako wracked his brain. "A sort of, nickname, I guess?" he asked him.

"Nickname?" Jamison's eyes went wide. "Dun think so. Just Jamie."

"Hm…" Mako breathed out heavily through the filters in his mask. "You'll need to think of one."

"Why?" Jamison tilted his head.

"Most fighters and mechanics have nicknames. Something we're known by in these circles."

Jamison looked even more curious, if that was even possible. "So wait. That means you got one, right?" Mako nodded reluctantly. "Well let's hear it! What is it!?"

His energy was tiring, but somewhere deep inside, Mako liked having this guy around. The way Jamison reacted to Mako was like he was excited over almost everything he spoke about, and Mako liked that very much indeed.

"Mine is Roadhog."

"Roadhog?" Jamison's lips turned into a little smile. "Cool. How'd ya get the name?"

"Took something about myself and mixed it with an animal."

Jamison let out a long _oooh_  as if he just realized something. "'Road' for that bike ya got? Ya like ridin' that much?"

Mako huffed. "Did you enjoy that ride?" he asked.

Jamison looked like he had been hit with a fish. His cheeks reddened and he pouted. "Dunno what ya mean."

Mako squinted his eyes. "I'm asking you. Riding is freeing, calming. You'll have to get used to it or take a bus if you plan on sticking around."

"Oh…" Jamison was an idiot, and felt like a huge one. All he could think about was nearly cumming in his pants just riding on the back of that bike. But Mako, he loved cruising down the road, and now that Jamison thought about it more, he liked it too. Perhaps not for the same reason as Mako, but he liked it.

"Well?"

"Ah, y-yeah, it was fun." Jamison laughed nervously.

Mako held the same expression under his mask. He wondered just what Jamison was thinking in that strange head of his, why he was getting so worked up.

"Anyway…" Mako redirected the topic. "Your nickname. Got anything in mind?"

Jamison looked extremely confused, like he was trying to figure out rocket science, which considering his skill, might not be all that difficult.

"I dunno, mate, I just pull a bunch of stuff together, most of it's junk y'know?"

Mako crossed his arms. "So junk, then…" he thought for a moment. "What about 'Junkrat?'"

"Junkrat?" Jamison repeated in a high, questioning tone. "Why rat?"

Mako shrugged but under his mask he was grinning. "Remind me of one. When you were soaked the other day you looked like a wet rat."

Jamison heard the little chuckle Mako made so he mocked him in return with a loud, "Har har! Very funny!" and pouted, but, he did think about it for a few seconds.

"Though… Junkrat ain't that bad of a name," he agreed. "I'll use it!"

Mako nodded and then uncrossed his arms. "Right then. We should head down now. Just follow me."

Jamison did just that and followed Mako down to the bottom floor of the arena. The halls and elevator were full of people, engineers and pilots alike moving their mechs to the waiting area. Soon the large room was filled with people and bots, with many of them glancing around to feel out their opponents, but not Mako; he was calm and collected, not phased by the people looking at him. A few of them knew who he was, well enough to know that Jamison was not his usual mechanic, but no one said anything to them. The room was filled with small talk between old rivals and teams, and Jamison wanted to get in on that and say something to Mako, but he seemed so zoned out, and Jamison wished more than ever that he could see his face.

"Alright listen up!" a voice shouted from the front of the room. A man with a headset had come in with a whiteboard on wheels and put it in front of everyone. "These are the match-ups. Each team will go down this hall to the ring, the engineers will head up top the to viewing suit to get a bird's eye view. Got it? Good. First match starts in five."

Once the man left, everyone went to the board and looked at their match-ups. Jamison looked for Mako's name, and, as expected, the name on the board said 'Roadhog.' Jamison smiled at it and followed the line across to the opponent's name.

"So? Who am I fighting?" Mako asked and placed his hand on Jamison's shoulder.

"Some guy named Rhino," Jamison answered.

"Hmm…" Mako hummed and narrowed his eyes; he knew the guy. "Should be easy enough." Mako looked below his name on the board, and saw the name 'Mike' written there, and it made him _furious_. Taking his hand, he made a fist and smeared the name away with the bottom of his palm.

"Why'd ya do that for?" Jamison asked.

"Mike is not my engineer anymore," he stated simply and handed a dry erase marker to Jamison. "You are."

Jamison's eyes widened, but he knew exactly what Mako was saying. He took the marker and pulled the cap off, and then wrote a _'J'_ on the board under Mako's nickname. Pausing, he pondered about what name to write, but ultimately deciding to write _'Junkrat'_  under Roadhog.

"C'mon, let's go." They were done here, so Mako grabbed the cart with the mech on it and began to pull it away. Jamison yelled for him to wait up and then chased after him, unknowing that many others in the room were watching them both.

They walked down the hall with a few others, and at the end, it spit into a three-way hall. "Follow the other engineers. You'll watch from up top."

"Right," Jamison nodded. "Sure it's alright, though? What if somethin' goes wrong with the mech?"

"If it breaks before I use it, I'll be firing you," Mako joked.

Jamison glared playfully, picking up on the lighter tone that Mako was using. "Yer not payin' me nothin', can't fire me."

Mako chuckled and turned. "Head up now. I'll see you after the match."

Jamison was silent for a moment.

"Good luck!" he sounded uncomfortable and awkward about saying it, and Mako looked over his shoulder at him. "And...take care of my baby. I put my 'eart and soul into 'er."

Mako simply turned back and began walking away. Under that mask, he was smiling.

Jamison watched him for a second before he took the elevator with the other engineers up to the top. There was a room with couches and drinks, much like the suite he was in with Mako, but this one had a balcony that jutted out and had a fantastic few of the ring. During the time that they were preparing, a hundred or so people had flooded into the arena and filled the seats, and it both excited and scared Jamison. But it was the best fear he'd ever felt; like something was rising in him. These people would see _his_  creation, and see Mako fight with it.

If nothing else, it was just pretty damn cool to be a part of.

A referee stepped into the ring and began to introduce the first match-up. According to the board, Mako was the third fighter, so it would be a little bit before his turn. Or so Jamison thought. As soon as the referee said to start, there was a loud clanking of metal and a small explosion, fire started, and one of the mechs had been completely blown in half. It was easy to say who won that one.

The second fight lasted a few minutes longer, and the two seemed to have mechs of equal strength, until one couldn't reload their machine gun fast enough and got its gun torn completely off.

It was then that Jamison realized that his baby would likely not come out unscathed.

As the ring was being cleared and cleaned, Jamison looked down to see if Mako was preparing to fight, and he was. Mako had the mech off the cart and was driving it around a little; doing some last minute tests maybe. Soon everything was ready and the referee called the next match-up into the ring. Mako climbed the stairs as he drove the mech up a ramp at the side of the ring, and met with his opponent in the center. Rhino seemed to speak to him, though Jamison had no idea what was said.

"Begin!"

The match started and Jamison felt his stomach tighten into knots. He'd never felt so nervous in his life, and flinched each time his mech dodged a heavy blow from the other. Mako was handling his creation wonderfully, and even without seeing his face, Jamison knew that he was concentrating hard. It was such a rush to watch and made Jamison clench his hands into fists as he kept his eyes trained on the match.

Mako felt that excitement again. He loved fighting, and to his surprise, the mech was holding up better than he thought it would. It moved quickly and had a decent amount of power, and held up anytime it was hit. Mako decided to charge, and it paid off, knocking the other mech over and then used the sword on his mech to hack at the other, eventually removing its gun. Rhino still didn't give up, as his mech still had another arm with a mechanical hand on it. He charged at Mako's as well, but ultimately missed. With one final attack, Mako shot the head of the other mech right off of it and sparks flew from the broken wires, halting the mech's movements immediately.

"And, match! The winner is Roadhog!!" the referee shouted, and the arena erupted into cheers.

"Yes!!" Jamison jumped, throwing his fist in the air. He grabbed the railing and leaned over it some. "Knew ya could do it, Mako! Awesome job, mate!!" he shouted at Mako, though it likely didn't reach him due to everyone else still cheering.

There was a man next to him, wearing a suit and tie, hair thick with gel and styled nicely. Jamison didn't notice him at all until he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Excuse me, are you Mako's new mechanic?"

Jamison stared at him for a moment before grinning proudly. He was going to eat this up. "Damn right I am! That's my masterpiece down there!" he laughed loudly and turned back to the arena.

"I see. Seems he found another good mechanic. Isn't he a lucky one."

"Yeah, right?" Jamison answered but then paused. "Wait, what?" When he looked back, the man was already several feet away from him and heading back inside the suite.

"That was weird…" Jamison muttered to himself, but he couldn't get too distracted. When he looked back down, Mako was looking up at him. Jamison smiled and waved, and Mako lifted his hand and beckoned him to come down.

Jamison felt so giddy and he practically skipped to the elevator, and fidgeted so much as he went down. Finally he was on the bottom floor and he jogged to where the fighters were. He met Mako about halfway.

"That was awesome!" Jamison shouted immediately, hands in front of his body and smiling up at him with pride and excitement.

Mako was stunned silent for a moment. "Thanks…"

Jamison smiled even wider. "Don' be so shy now! You just won! You destroyed that other guy!" He started to laugh.

How could this guy be so cute. Mako didn't expect it at all. He expected a 'good job' and that was it, maybe a pat on the back, but Jamison was praising him so much for a small victory, and it was making Mako feel strange. Warm. _Good._

"So, what now?"

Mako swallowed. "First we go collect our winnings," he said.

"Whoa I didn't know we'd be getting paid!"

Mako chuckled. "Told you, people bet on these matches. And well, I'm feeling generous. You deserve something, so I'll split the winnings with you, fifty-fifty."

Jamison's eyes bugged out. "Thanks mate," was all he could say in return. "Then what?"

"We're going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate." His words seemed to put Jamison in a state of pleased disbelief; he was twiddling his thumbs and had a crooked smile. It was honestly one of the cutest things Mako had seen.

_Cute._ That thought about Jamison had come to mind twice in a very short amount of time, and it made Mako feel a little uncomfortable. Jamison could be annoying, but that was part of the odd charm that he had, and seeing him so excited about Mako winning, how it made Mako feel to see; it crystal clear to him.

He liked Jamison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at writing battle scenes.  
> But this chapter was fun to write! I'm liking Mako starting to like Jamison more and more :)  
> Chapter 7 should be fun...
> 
> \--
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
> Thank you.   
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	7. Celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Two chapters in a row without smut? Wow.  
> 

"Hey, wait a sec," Jamison started and then glanced around the elevator curiously. "Where's my mech?"

Mako sighed. He forgot to tell him. "They get stored after the matches, don't worry about it, your 'baby' is fine."

Jamison pouted, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator as they continued down. He didn't much like the idea of someone else touching and messing with his mech, but he didn't have it in him to argue with Mako, and he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere.

During the ride down, they picked up several others who forced Jamison into the corner with Mako. It wasn't a problem at first, but as more people piled in, Jamison's back became pressed against Mako's stomach. With him so close, Mako could see just how uncomfortable Jamison was; his body was fidgeting, more than usual. Mako placed his hand on Jamison's shoulder to keep him still but it seemed to have the opposite effect, since Jamison immediately jolted.

There was something wrong.

Jamison looked almost ill. His eyes were darting to every corner of the elevator, his fingers clawed at the fabric over his arms, and his breathing began to change.

Jamison didn't like crowded areas, that became obvious to Mako. He looked at the elevator panel to see how far until the next floor. It wouldn't be long. As soon as the elevator dinged, Mako grabbed Jamison's hand and pushed forward to get out of the elevator; with some of the people scoffing at him for not saying 'excuse me,' but Mako didn't care in the least, and it left Jamison confused by more than a few things.

Mako getting off at the wrong floor, why he got out of the elevator in the first place, and the biggest thing in his mind – Mako was holding his hand, tightly.

"H-Hey, what're ya doing?" Jamison finally asked and then tugged on his hand. He slipped out of Mako's grasp and stopped in the hall, and Mako stopped ahead of him before turning to face him.

"You didn't want to be in there, right?" Mako said.

Jamison was stunned to say the least, but before he could respond to Mako's nice gesture, Mako turned and started walking.

"C'mon, we're taking the stairs."

"Hey! Wait for me!" Jamison ran to catch up, and walked beside him. Even without seeing Mako's face, Jamison could tell what expression he was wearing, and what this whole thing was about.

"Thanks, mate. I appreciate it," Jamison said and gently nudged Mako's arm with his elbow. Mako responded with a low growl, but it made Jamison smile; it was like Mako was saying, "don't mention it."

/

Mako giving Jamison his half of the winnings was such a surreal feeling; he couldn't remember the last time he had so much money all at once, and he instantly thought of several things he wanted to do with it.

"I'm gonna have a great time with this," Jamison giggled, and Mako immediately stepped closer to him.

"First, you're gonna buy new clothes. You've been wearing that torn up jumpsuit for days. Then you can do whatever you want."

Jamison frowned at being told what to do, but shopping was somewhere on his to-do list so he couldn't really complain.

Mako had the hotel room to himself for a good hour while Jamison was off shopping. It was nice to have his alone time to relax, and most of all, he could let his face breathe. His skin was moist feeling, damp, and warm from the mask, but he was more than used to it.

The dresser across the room had a mirror connected to the back of it and it caught his attention. Sitting forward, he pushed himself off of the bed and walked over to it. He had some wrinkles, skin sagged just slightly, and his face was badly scarred. The right side of his face looked like it had been mauled; thick scars ran down his right eye and reached to his jaw. The corner of his mouth was slightly scarred from it as well, but not as much as other places. His right eye, though once a deep brown like the left, was solid white. Fake. He could remember the day he lost it quite well, but it was a memory he didn't want to dwell on.

For once, Mako was glad when Jamison barged through the door, greeting him with a loud, "G'day!" It distanced his mind from the past and focused him on his present and future.

Mako pulled his mask on before Jamison saw. "What did you get?" Mako asked him before he could start asking questions himself, and Jamison seemed thrilled that he did.

"Oh, this an' that, y'know." Jamison started to yank clothes out of the bag, shirts first, tank-tops, and then a few pairs of pants. "Hold on, gotta fix these." He said and walked to his backpack.

"Somethin' wrong with it?"

"Yeah! Can't fit my leg it in right!" Jamison stuck his fake leg up and wobbled it a bit for emphasis, which was a pretty funny display, Mako had to admit.

"Ah," was all Mako said, curiously watching what Jamison was going to do.

Jamison pulled out some scissors, lined the pants up with his body for a vague measurement, and then began cutting through the right pant-leg at the knee. Once he was done, he quickly walked to the bathroom and grabbed something else along the way. He was in there for a minute or so, and then came out wearing the pants and a new hoodie.

"So, what'cha think?" Jamison asked and stood there like he was presenting himself.

In truth, the pants looked good on him, fit well, nice dark color. Tight. The hoodie was a vibrant red and was a bit big on him, but it looked good, and underneath it looked like he was wearing a white shirt.

"Well, you don't look homeless anymore."

Jamison scoffed and crossed his arms. "Can't compliment me without mockin' me, can ya?"

Mako chuckled at him but that was it. Jamison didn't press him and cut each right leg in half on all of the pants he bought.

"So we goin' out then?"

Mako grunted and nodded. "There's a nice place just down the street. Good food, cute staff."

Jamison's lips turned up in a grin. "Cute, eh? Maybe I'll find myself a cute lil' waiter boy, huh? That'd be nice!" he giggled without even thinking.

Mako felt his stomach do a flip. He hesitated. "Maybe I'll find one too."

The realization of what had been said hit Jamison a little later than it should have, but when it did he stared at Mako like he'd realized something amazing. And it was amazing. Now Jamison knew what Mako was into, at least partly, and that excited him.

"Gonna keep starin' or are you comin'?" Mako asked him. Jamison seemed to be lost in thought, and the reason why became apparent to Mako when he saw Jamison blush and fiddle his fingers around.

'Cute.'

/

Jamison definitely felt out of place in the restaurant. Fancy lights, beautiful carved wood, marble tiled floors, and all the staff were in fancy button-up shirts and pants that were a little too tight. Mako was right though, the staff was cute. Even so, he kept his eyes on Mako's back, watching only him. Jamison knew they were eating out to celebrate the victory, but something about it felt very much like a date. They were both dressed decently, soft music played in the background, and the lighting was dim and...romantic. Literally shaking his head, Jamison forced his mind back to the present; reality.

Mako spoke to the greeter, who then led them to a booth towards the back. Jamison slid in opposite of Mako, and it felt just like before. Sitting across from Mako who was looking down at a menu made Jamison nervous, almost more nervous than when he was watching the fight earlier, but he didn't understand why. He wasn't stupid; he knew he had a crush and had some pretty intense sexual feelings for Mako, but to be so nervous just about sitting across from him like this? It was silly.

After Jamison picked out what he wanted, he sat the menu down, but Mako was still looking at his. Jamison's brain started reeling again, about Mako, about the fight, about his feelings for Mako.

"Come on, out with it." Mako looked up at him, finally having enough.

"Wha...what?" Jamison's face was priceless, dumbfounded.

"I can see your brain overheating. You're not good at keeping quiet, so go on, talk."

Jamison watched as Mako placed his menu down and stared directly at Jamison. Through the foggy lenses he could make out the faint outline of Mako's eyes. To have Mako's undivided attention so suddenly stumped Jamison and he didn't know what to even say.

"Ain't it hard ta read with that mask on? Looks cloudy."

"No." 'Is that really what you want to say?' Mako wondered after answering. Jamison went completely silent, discouraged by Mako's quick and blunt answer.

Mako sighed. "Well, actually…" he started again and Jamison perked right up. "It is a little hard. But I'm used to it."

His answer made Jamison smile. Finally, Mako was talking more and not brushing him off. "Y'know, you can take yer mask off, I don' mind. Dunno why yer hidin' yer face anyway," Jamison poked at the silverware anxiously.

"You that interested in my face?" Mako asked him.

It gave Jamison hope. "Of course! Been workin' with ya for over a week now, and I ain't got a clue what'cha look like!"

"Didn't think it was important."

Jamison frowned. "... Guess it's not... But, 'm still curious. We're partners now, yeah?"

"Partners, huh…" Mako mumbled. He almost let himself fall for it, fall for the idea of having a "partner" again. "You don't need to see it, so drop it."

Jamison slumped down in his seat, accepting Mako's refusal.

The waiter came and took their order, and the two sat in silence until their food came. This time, it was Mako who spoke up; he had been curious ever since they left the hotel about something.

"How'd you lose your leg?"

Jamison had just taken a piece of grilled chicken into his mouth and nearly choked on it; coughing for a few seconds before regaining himself.

Jamison forced a chuckle once his throat was clear. "Think ya can just ask me somethin' like that when ya won't even let me see your face?"

"Fine," Mako replied and completely lost his interest. Or pretended to. He knew Jamison well enough, the man wanted attention, someone to talk to; giving him to opportunity to talk was just what he wanted, even if it meant he didn't get anything in return. Mako pushed his mask up a bit and put the straw of his drink between his lips to take a sip.

Jamison couldn't last in the silence.

"Happened when I was a little tyke, maybe nine or ten? I don' remember…" Jamison poked at his chicken, but he had Mako's full attention. "I was with my mum and da in the car drivin', can't remember where we were goin'. I was in the front with 'em, but a, uh…" he looked down at the table, "a truck hit us."

Mako stopped drinking and set his cup down. He could guess what happened after that. Parents died, and lost his leg in the crash.

"I don' remember after the crash, just waking up in the hospital missin' a leg, then they told me about my parents, and how-"

"Jamison, it's okay."

Jamison jerked his head up, eyes wide. He felt like Mako's voice dragged him out of another world.

"You're crying."

Was he? Jamison didn't even realize he was, but sure enough, when he touched his cheeks, he felt tears wetting his fingers.

"Ah fuck," Jamison forced another laugh and rubbed at his eyes with his sleeves. "Would ya just look at me, cryin' like a baby, haha. S-Sorry mate, I-"

Mako surprised him again by placing a large hand on his head. "It's okay. Sorry I asked."

Jamison couldn't help it and more tears began to fill his eyes. Mako wasn't sure why but he felt compelled to gentle ruffle Jamison's hair, but he did. It seemed to calm Jamison down and he wiped at his eyes a final time.

"Yeah, so...that's how I lost my leg," Jamison sniffled. "Didn't mean to turn it into a sob fest."

"Don't worry about it," Mako told him. He could relate to losing his parents at a young age, so Mako felt a little more connected to him. Jamison gave him a little smile, said thanks, and they both started to eat again. Even though the moment had passed, Jamison still looked upset, and that tugged at Mako's heart a little; he was really starting to feel protective over this guy, but he couldn't place why. Part of him was still incredibly annoyed by him, but a part of him really liked him as well.

"Let's go out for drinks tonight."

Jamison raised an eyebrow. "What? Drinks?"

"Alcohol, you know, a bar?"

"Oh, right!" Jamison laughed, finally a happier smile on his face. "Sure thing!"

"You ever been drinking?" Mako asked.

"Not really. Never been to a bar, and I rarely get alcohol."

"Should be a good time then," Mako grinned as he pulled his mask down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|  
>  **Thanks for reading!**  
>  Please remember to leave  
> a comment. It keeps us  
> writers alive and happy.  
> Thank you.  
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	8. Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  After what seems like an eternity, I finally update this fic.  
> 

The first thing that Jamison noticed when they got to the bar were all the eyes on them. At first it bothered him, thinking they were sneering at them, or at least himself because of how he looked, but...he actually looked pretty nice today, and for once not covered in dirt. It hit him after a moment; these people were fans — fans who watched the battles today. They were talking among themselves and whispering as they glanced to the two men. For once, Jamison felt proud. Mako may have won his battle but he did so with _his_  mech, so he was at least half the reason that they were getting attention.

Mako sat down at the bar and nodded to the bartender, who simply returned the nod and began to fix a drink. Jamison sat next to Mako and glanced between him and the bartender.

"Whatcha get?"

"Then usual," Mako answered and looked away from those curious eyes of Jamison's.

Jamison rolled his eyes. "Well don't leave me hangin', what is it?"

Mako sighed and shifted his eyes to him. "Scotch, on the rocks."

"It any good?"

"Wouldn't get it if it wasn't."

Jamison seemed to think for a minute before he blurted out, "I'll get it too!"

Was this guy copying him again? Though, Mako didn't really mind so much. Besides, this would be interesting since clearly Jamison never had scotch before.

The bartender put Mako's drink in front of him and, as Mako lifted his mask to sip his drink, turned towards the eager man beside him to ask what he wanted to drink.

"Same as the big lug 'ere. Scotch- Scotch right?" he leaned towards Mako looking for confirmation, who grunted with a nod. "Scotch, with the ice too," he said as he pointed to the bar table.

"On the rocks," Mako corrected him.

"Right, rocks."

The bartender cast skeptical looks to Mako, almost like he questioned why he was with him, before turning to work on Jamie's drink. Jamie waited, swaying his legs back and forth and tapping his fingers obnoxiously against the bar counter until the bartender placed his drink in front of him.

Mako turned his body just slightly to watch Jamison; he didn't want to miss the reaction Jamison would have from trying scotch for the first time, and he wasn't disappointed. Jamison took one small sip and the alcohol barely touched his lips before his face scrunched up with what Mako assumed was shock and disgust. It was admittedly quite amusing to watch.

"You'll get used to that," Mako told him. 

"It's gross," Jamison retorted and stuck out his tongue. "Burns."

"You'll get used to that too." Mako took a drink. 

Jamison was a determined one and he showed it by taking several more sips of the alcohol. They were small, stiff, and spaced out as if he had to prepare himself for each one, meanwhile Mako drank without a care, although his eyes did wander to Jamison every so often to see the hilarity that was Jamison's reactions. 

Jamison took many small sips of the scotch and each time his face contorted into a funny expression. Before too long, Jamison had downed the entire glass and slammed it down onto the bar counter.

"That...wasn't so...awful."

Mako chuckled. "You'll get used to it."

"Fine, buy me another," the words left Jamison's mouth in a quick hushed tone. 

Mako looked at him, Jamison's lips were pulled into a coy little grin. 

It was hard to refuse that look, not like Mako had any qualms about it anyway, and ordered another drink. 

Jamison handled the second glass better, but the alcohol hit him after a while and he slumped onto the counter, leaning towards Mako, head pressing against his big arm.

"Had enough?" Mako asked him.

Jamison laughed. "Nah mate, I could go all night!" Mako highly doubted that, but it sure was entertaining.

"Say Mako, I never had the chance ta ask ya, what kinda boys are ya into?" Jamison's eyes were hazy and half-life, drunk. Still, the question made Mako shift.

"That's a personal question."

"I know that! That's why I asked!" he hiccupped. "Now if you ask me, my type is, well," he broke into a fit of giggles and danced his fingers up Mako's forearm.

Mako's heart skipped a beat; already he knew exactly what Jamison was saying. The feel of Jamison's fingers skipping up his arm made a chill shoot down to his lower back and it tingled; he hadn't felt that sort of warmth in years, and he couldn't even deny that he liked it. He could read Jamison like an open book; he was his type, that was clear from that flirty look and blush that was dusting Jamison's cheeks, not to mention he basically verbally admitted it.

"You're drunk," Mako mumbled and tried to pull his arm away, but the action made Jamison stumble towards him more and his flesh hand pressed into Mako's thigh to support himself.

"C'mon now, don't be like that, I'm not that drunk." At least he could form sentences. He didn't seem that drunk, Mako supposed, but he doubted Jamison would be doing these things—like squeezing his thigh—if he was sober. Even so, Mako didn't think Jamison was lying about his type, and thought maybe his true feelings had come out since he was a little tipsy. Mako liked it, deep down somewhere inside of him, passed that thick and rough exterior that he always had on, Mako enjoyed it immensely.

Mako sighed heavily and took one last sip of his scotch before setting it down.

"Come on, that's enough for you tonight." Mako stood up and put his hand on Jamison's shoulder. "We're going back before you get more drunk."

Jamison let out a loud whine. "Fine!" he caved easier than Mako though he would and stood up with Mako. He wobbled a bit and Mako held his shoulder to balance him, and then wrapped an arm under Jamison's.

"Let's go, you're too unstable to walk."

Mako lifted him a bit and started to walk, but Jamison kept wobbling and bumping into him, so to make it easier, he easily flung Jamison over his shoulder to carry him. Jamison, of course protested and made some ruckus, but he eventually calmed down and just let Mako carry him back to the hotel. People stared at them but Mako was good at ignoring people and Jamison was too out of it to care.

In the room, Mako dumped Jamison on the large bed and just stared at him. Jamison sat up and smirked, still feeling tipsy and flirty. His cheeks were pink from his thoughts and alcohol and he felt his body get warmer. Mako eyed him suspiciously; he was slightly buzzed as well, not as much as Jamison but he felt something, and with the way Jamison was looking at him, it made everything worse.

"Can't believe a big guy like you ain't found someone yet." Jamison sat up on his knees and grabbed the front of Mako's shirt, and pulled him closer. 

"Strong, quiet, sexy, just look at ya..." Jamison's eyes narrowed and scanned down Mako's body. He grabbed one of his hands.

"Calluses, rough...bet it feels nice..."

Mako was blushing; not a lot, but enough for himself to notice and curse himself. Even his breathing was starting to change. Having a cute young man flirt with him, compliment him, say such inviting things, made his body light up with desire the likes he hadn't felt in ages. 

Jamison leaned up more and pressed his body against Mako's, and started to slide his hand up his chest.

"Bet you're handsome too, under here," Jamison whispered coyly and pushed Mako's mask up slightly, just enough to reveal Mako's mouth. Even in his tipsy state, Jamison knew how important the mask was, and how strict Mako was about keeping it on.

But Mako didn't stop him. Even as Jamison's finger gently tapped his bottom lip, even as Jamison's lips pressed ever-so-softly against his own. Jamison's lips felt soft, even if some spots were a bit dry and cracked; it still made Mako want to kiss him more, and it didn't take long for Mako to give in. Taking control, Mako moved his hand behind Jamison's neck, gripped slightly, and pulled him closer. He moved his lips against Jamison's, feeling his skin under his and tasting a bit of him along with the alcohol. 

How long had it been since Mako kissed anyone? Touched anyone? Far too long. In that moment, Mako wanted to take Jamison and do everything he could think of — kiss him, make out, touch his skin, see his naked body, fuck him, everything.

Jamison opened his mouth, completely gave into Mako's touch and let his thick tongue enter his mouth. Mako's hand gripped Jamison's hair, holding him closer in a more urgent, passionate hold. Their tongues touched and Jamison moaned loudly. The noise shook Mako out of whatever spell he'd been under and his eyes shot open wide. Immediately Mako pushed Jamison away from him and yanked his mask back down.

It was wrong. Mako was a bit buzzed but he wasn't drunk, he could think straight, but Jamison—Jamison couldn't; he could barely even walk straight. The sweet taste that had been left in Mako's mouth by Jamison's kiss turned sour and gross. He felt guilty and horrible for having kissed Jamison, for allowing it, for not stopping it the instant it started, and for wanting so much more.

Jamison looked offended and tired. "What're ya doing? Didn't like that?" 

Mako bit his bottom lip. Of course he liked it; he was half erect and craving more, he wanted to say that he did, but he couldn't let Jamison know or see. 

"I can't..."

"C'mon mate-" 

"No," Mako stated sternly and pushed Jamison down onto the bed when he tried to approach again. "I can't. You're drunk, it's wrong." Jamison's face fell into a heart-wrenching frown that tore at Mako's chest. 

"So I'm...really not your type, huh..."

Mako couldn't look at that face anymore. He turned to the side and clenched his fists. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so attached to Jamison. They were partners but he never thought of him like that until Jamison actually flirted with him. But he was drunk, not in his right mind.

"I didn't say that," Mako spoke awkwardly; he didn't know what to do, but he didn't want Jamison to think anything bad. 

"Just...go to bed alright? You're drunk, need to rest." Jamison pouted but rolled onto his belly, hugging the pillow to his cheek. 

"You're a real stand-up guy, know that?" Jamison muttered into the pillow. 

Mako signed. "Right." He knew exactly what it meant. Jamison was thanking him for not taking it further even though they both wanted to. Jamison was drunk, and it was wrong to continue when he couldn't give proper consent, although Mako couldn't tell if Jamison was glad about it; he seemed almost offended that Mako stopped.

He couldn't let it affect him, though, and Mako pulled a blanket over Jamison's body. As he did, he could see that Jamison was tenting slightly in his pants. Mako sighed because he felt the same way. He couldn't help thinking back to what Jamison said earlier, about him being his type. Was he really? Mako wasn't sure if he could trust the words of a drunken man, but he really, _really_  wanted to. Jamison telling him such things made him feel like a young man again; made him want things he thought he didn't care about anymore.

Mako sat on the bed beside Jamison for several minutes, watching him breathe, mumble to himself on the verge of sleep. The redness left Jamison's face after a few moment and his body relaxed, Mako assumed he'd fallen asleep and leaned down to inspect him. For a split second he had an urge to kiss him anywhere; his forehead, lips, cheek, wherever he could reach, but he resisted and finally stood up. 

Only then did he fully realize how erect he himself was. It felt wrong, even as he walked to the bathroom to take care of his problem. He turned the shower on full blast to hide any sounds he might make, but once he had his pants around his ankles with his shame standing at full, he felt dirty, so he stripped his clothes off and got in. The water was almost scalding hot but that didn't stop his hand as it wandered down to his cock and began to stroke. The mental image of Jamison filled his head; flashes of that cocky grin, that voice, the way he kissed and felt to hold, and fantasies of other more heated embraces filled his mind.

Mako couldn't hold back some moans as he pleasured himself, just the thought of Jamison made him feel such amazing things, his mind had wandered to many other intimate things but he didn't let himself indulge too deeply; he knew he had to keep himself under control.

After a few minutes, Mako came and slumped against the tile wall of the shower, panting heavily. He watched as semen mixed with the water and slipped down the drain, washing all evidence away, and felt guilt hit him again. None of it should have happened; he should have stopped Jamison, that's what he told himself but he couldn't stop himself from liking it and wanting more. 

Mako finished in the bathroom and went back to the room where he found Jamison sound asleep on his back now. He'd pushed the blanket off of himself a bit so Mako readjusted it for him. 

Mako watched him for a moment before walking to the couch where Jamison had slept before. He didn't want to risk waking Jamison, as he wasn't sure how to quite deal with speaking with him right now. 

Tonight, he'd let Jamison have the nice bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what'll happen in the morning.
> 
> p.s. sorry for the short chapters I know it sucks
> 
> \--
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
> Thank you.   
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	9. Champion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Just to let you guys know, there probably won't be another chapter of this fic for a while. Sorry.  
> 

The first thing in Mako's mind that morning was Jamison. Of course it was, there was nothing else more important in the world; not the battles, not the championship, nothing. He lied on the couch and thought of him, of last night, how it felt to kiss and hold Jamison. His thoughts trailed on for minutes before his eyes finally wandered over to the bed. Jamison seemed to curl up in the night and was wrapped tightly in the blanket, and was still asleep.

Mako looked across the room to the digital clock on the dresser beside the TV. It was nearly noon already, which meant that the battles had already started. He wanted to catch some more of them to see who his competition would be, and show Jamison what he'd be competing with as well.

He enjoyed his comfort for a bit longer before he finally got up. He stood next to the bed and stared down at Jamison still sleeping peacefully. Mako almost didn't want to wake him, but it was getting late and they still needed to eat before heading out. He began to slowly shake Jamison until his amber eyes parted and he groaned as he rolled over, and god was he adorable; his hair ruffled and messed up, that drowsy look in his eyes, Mako really didn't want to wake him.

"Time to get up. We have matches to watch."

It took a moment for everything to register in Jamison's mind.

"Oh, right, right..."

Mako sat back on the couch and began to put his shoes on while Jamison sat up. Jamison looked around him and quickly realized that he wasn't on the couch but in the big comfy bed.

"Hey uh, Mako?"

"Hm?"

"Why am I over here?" Mako looked up at him; Jamison's eyes were scanning him for answers. He looked nervous, scared maybe? Mako wasn't sure.

"You don't remember?" Mako asked carefully. Jamison looked confused and glanced to his hands and then around the room.

He didn't remember.

"You passed out there, so I let you sleep."

Jamison didn't respond, he was trying to wrack his brain to find a memory, but there was a blank spot in his mind. He remembered going out for drinks, ordering scotch like an idiot, trying to impress Mako and show that he could handle his liquor, which he couldn't. Oh, _that_  was why he couldn't remember.

"Hurry up and get ready, it's already noon."

"What are we doing?" Jamison asked.

"We're getting lunch and then going to watch the battles today."

 

Jamison was oddly quiet the entire walk to the cafe where they were going to eat. Mako knew something was wrong, but should he say something? Judging from the way Jamison acted, perhaps it was better to just leave it be. If Jamison didn't remember last night, there was no reason to bring it up. At least, that's what Mako kept telling himself the entire time. He wanted to say something, because he didn't want last night to be the first and last time he felt Jamison's lips, but something was stopping him.

Mako wasn't a nervous guy, he couldn't be nervous to talk about it, so why the words danced on his tongue, desperate to ask Jamison about last night and tell him what actually happened, he didn't know.

He couldn't dwell on it. He ordered his food, and Jamison ordered his; this time actually getting something different from Mako. That was the only time that Jamison spoke, and he never made eye contact with Mako as they waited. Jamison spoke again when the waitress brought their food but only to thank her, and then went silence once more.

Mako wasn't used to the silence; Jamison was always rather loud and twitchy, but he was dead quiet and barely moving.

"Hey," Mako spoke, voice low and almost confrontational. He could have sworn Jamison had twitched, but he wasn't entirely sure, but it did get his attention.

"Is something wrong?" Mako asked. "Not used to you being so quiet." Jamison shifted, obviously uncomfortable.

"Um...hey, I..." Jamison poked his fork at his food. "I didn't do anything...stupid, last night, did I?"

"Stupid?"

"Yeah like...like, uh." Mako noticed Jamison's face had turned pink. "It's just...I tend to get kinda, well, flirty when I'm tipsy."

"Ah."

Jamison tensed. "I did, didn't I?"

Mako sighed. "You did. You said some things. Felt up my arm," Jamison looked increasingly more unhappy and embarrassed with what Mako was telling him.

"Shit, I'm sorry mate." Jamison fidgeted with his eyebrow piercing, looking down.

"Not your fault. I stopped you from drinking more, you were so drunk as it was, you couldn't even walk right. Like I said, you passed out when we got back to the hotel." Mako left out the details; Jamison telling him that he's his type, the heavy kissing, everything. He knew if Jamison found out, it'd only make things worse. It might also cost him his mechanic, and he couldn't lose Jamison now.

Jamison sighed. "Good. I was worried for a sec there."

Mako stiffened this time. "Worried?"

"Yeah well, worried that we might have, y'know...done other stuff..." He turned more red, and it killed Mako.

"Nothing would have happened. I wasn't drunk enough to be interested." The words felt like a knife in both of their stomachs. Mako's guilt ate at him but he didn't say anything, he couldn't.

"Right, yeah, well, at least we got that out of the way." Fuck it hurt. It hurt so bad to hear that rushed, nervous tone in Jamison's voice, and watching him tug at his piercings with anxiety.

They were in total silence, neither of them made eye contact either. The awkward air was palpable, and it hurt both of them.

Mako had to break the silence.

"There's something I want you to see today," he said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Mako paused for a second. "How confident are you in your skills? In making mechs?"

Jamison scoffed. "Already got you a win didn't I?"

Mako sighed. "It only gets harder from here. You'll see some of the other mechs soon, and you'll realize that your mech wouldn't stand a chance against them." Jamison looked incredibly offended by that statement and started to suck his drink through a straw, but for Mako it was just better than the previous expression Jamison had.

"You'll have to up your game, and you—" Mako started, but was cut off.

"I got it, jeez, I'll do-"

"I'm counting on you, Jamison."

The offended, angry look that Jamison had disappeared immediately; his mouth hung open slightly as Mako stared at him. The soft tone in Mako's voice made Jamison's heart flutter. Someone was counting on him? Relying on him? That had never happened before, but it was a wonderful feeling.

Mako knew what he did, knew that it touched Jamison. He didn't mean for it to, but he wasn't going to take it back. Besides, he enjoyed seeing that flustered, happy look on Jamison's face, especially after what he'd just said to him and lying to him about the previous night. God, Mako was not feeling great about himself.

 

 

After eating, the two made their way to the convention center, which was packed with people, all chattering and looking at merchandise. Jamison saw a lot of things, mostly food and knickknacks people made to sell. It was just like any other convention, except this was centered around the mechs and the fighters who were popular. As they walked through the center, Jamison noticed something; there was no merchandise resembling Mako. There was even a large booth with big flags with all the fighters' nicknames stitched into them, but not a single one said Roadhog.

So, Mako didn't have merchandise? It struck Jamison as odd, but then he remembered how Mako treated him for the first week of their partnership and how he treated his mechanics, and it made sense why someone as cold as him wouldn't exactly have a ton of fans, much less a sponsor like many of the others did.

Suddenly a crowd of people pushed through while they yelled over themselves. They seemed to be trying to get to someone, and weren't exactly gentle about getting there.

"It's her!" one shouted.

"D.Va! Over here!"

A group of young girls pushed Jamison out of the way and made him slam into Mako's side, who just stared ahead at the crowd, unfazed that Jamison even touched him.

"What's going on over there?" Jamison asked.

Mako sighed. "You'll find out soon enough."

Jamison wasn't happy with the answer but he knew better than to ask further, and he simply followed Mako throughout the center. Eventually, they found themselves in an elevator again, luckily this time it was just them. Mako remembered the last time they were in one and how Jamison looked like he was about to panic, and he noticed a similar look on his face again.

"Don't like elevators?" Mako finally asked.

Jamison shook his head. "Nah, it's not the elevator."

"Small spaces?"

Jamison nodded.

"Don't like feeling trapped, I get it." Mako sighed and moved away from Jamison to give him more room. "We'll be off soon."

The simple words made Jamison feel better about being in the small area, and hearing them from Mako made him feel better as well.

Soon they were at the top floor. Mako led, since Jamison didn't know where they were going, out into the hall. Down the corridor and after taking a turn, they exited out onto a balcony. As soon as they stepped out, Jamison heard the roar of a crowd below. He went up to the railing and peeked down at the arena, the same one Mako fought in the day before.

Mako stepped beside Jamison. "Watch the mechs. Learn from them, learn how to beat them."

Jamison glanced to Mako, thinking his words were weird. All Mako wanted from him was the best mech, nothing more and nothing less. But there wasn't anything weird about that, so Jamison had to stop himself from being upset about it. He did as he was told and watched the mechs, watched them fight and beat each other down. Some of the mechs were worthy of his praise, but some were pathetic and beaten within seconds.

Thirty minutes passed of watching about six different battles, and once they cleared the arena off, a loud male voice rang over the announcement system.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The pilot everyone's been wait to see!" The announcer went on for a bit, and Jamison turned to Mako.

"What's he talking about?"

Mako didn't answer.

Jamison pursed his lip up, glaring slightly at being ignored, but turned back to the arena.

"Straight from South Korea, this nineteen year old has won countless battles, and is the current holder of the championship!" Jamison perked up at that and leaned forward over the balcony railing.

"Please welcome, Hana Song! Better know as D.Va!"

A blast of noise came from one of the entrances, a large, pink flying mech boosted through the air over the crowd, blasting electronic music. Jamison was already studying the mech, those boosters, how they got such a heavy machine to fly seemingly with ease. And how was it being controlled? He couldn't see.

The mech landed in the center of the arena, and the crowd was still roaring and chanting "D.Va" repeatedly. Suddenly the back of the mech opened and a brown haired girl climbed out and stood on top of her mech. She stood proudly, posing for all the camera flashes, making a peace sign made with her fingers next to her face that was beaming with the most innocent and happy smile ever. She suddenly spoke, something in Korean so Jamison missed it.

"What'd she say? Jamison asked to Mako with a raised eyebrow.

"'I play to win,'" Mako said, "That's her catchphrase."

Mako did not sound pleased about it.

This tiny little girl was the reigning champion. Not what Jamison expected at all, but her mech was impressive, and that's all that Jamison was interested in. She seemed to control it from inside, a he watched her climb back inside of it. A mech controlled from the inside, Jamison almost wanted to build one for himself just to try it out.

As they waited for the other combatant, D.Va danced around in her mech as if she was having a fun time, like this fight was nothing.

"She's not taking this seriously, is she?" Jamison said to Mako.

"She doesn't have to," Mako grumbled. "She's the champion, she gets a free pass to this year's championships."

"Then why's she here?"

Mako didn't look at him. "Because she loves it."

Jamison's lips went flat. "Do you love it?"

"What? Battling?" Jamison nodded. "Yeah, I love it."

Jamison then grabbed Mako's arm and got his attention. "See that!" he eagerly pointed to D.Va. "You're gonna beat her! You're gonna beat all of them and be the champ this year! We're gonna destroy them all!!"

Mako's eyes widened at the younger man, who had suddenly become so enthusiastic.

"Why?"

Jamison tilted his head. "Why what?"

"Why are you so eager now?"

Jamison smiled so cutely then. "Because you deserve to have somethin' ya love! And so I'm gonna help ya win it!"

Mako wished he didn't feel his heart swell then. He knew exactly what it was, but he didn't want to breathe life into it. Anything but that disgusting, horrible feeling again. Anything but love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|  
>  **Thanks for reading!**  
>  Please remember to leave  
> a comment. It keeps us  
> writers alive and happy.  
> Thank you.  
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿|
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	10. The Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _All the guilt in Mako's belly doubled; he could hear the sadness in Jamison's voice as he spoke and see it in his body language._   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Sorry it took me 6.6 months to update this fic.  
> 

Mako supposed it was good that Jamison was so focused on the match that had started below, and luckily the noise of the crowd and the explosions and fighting below kept Mako's thoughts at bay. He fought the feeling in his chest and gut as hard as he could, but watching Jamison watch the match with so much excitement rekindled the swell in his chest.

The fuzzy feeling passed after a few minutes, and Mako was able to keep himself grounded and actually focus on the fight rather than Jamison, who was leaning dangerously over the railing that kept him from falling a good twenty feet into the crowd below.

It didn't take long for D.Va to win her match, with the other guy and his mech on the ground looking completely beaten up. Staff came onto the arena to clean up while D.Va soaked up the cheers and applause. Jamison quickly lost that look of wonder and excitement once D.va got out of her mech, like the praise she was receiving made him jealous.

"What's the matter? Thought you were enjoying the show?"

Jamison scoffed, his lips curled into a slight pout. "I'm better than her."

Mako grinned under his mask. How absolutely cute. "Then prove it."

"I will!" Jamison clenched his fist in front of him, looking directly into Mako's lenses. That was that look of determination again, the one that made Mako smile.

"Come on. Let's get some food before the next match," Mako said but suddenly Jamison leaped in front of him.

"You go 'head, I wanna go talk to that girl!"

Mako's eyes widened. "To Hana? You serious?"

"That a problem?" Jamison grumbled through pouted lips and narrowed eyes.

Mako shook his head. "No, not at all." This guy had a deathwish, that was for sure.

Jamison knew that Mako was hiding something and pouted more at him. "Whatever, I'll catch up with ya later." He barely waved as he turned and jogged off. Mako sighed and felt like he could breathe a little bit easier. He was being ridiculous about the whole thing. Even knowing that Jamison was into guys, and even if he said that Mako was his type, this was a professional relationship. Well, as professional as Jamison and Mako could be, all things considered. He just couldn't ignore the little part of him that liked Jamison.

Jamison paced down the hall until he reached the elevator. He swallowed and felt his gut tie into several knots, just thinking about riding it made him feel sick, so he opted for the slower route—the stairs. 

He had to have gone down maybe six flights of stairs; he lost track by time he reached the ground floor. He didn't account for the fact that he had no idea where he was in the giant building. Luckily, after walking curiously down a few halls, he found a convenient sign with arrows that pointed to where things were, and finally he was able to find his way. 

He pushed through some metal doors and came into a large, high-ceiling room, with concrete floors and walls, racks of metal and shelves all around. Large dome-shaped fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, and there were a _ton_  of mechs. Mechanics were running around hard at work on their projects, some talked while they snacked on food, and others looked to be asleep at their desks. The room smelled of oil, grease, gas, metal, and other scents that made Jamison breathe in heavily. It was a wonderful scent, and it smelled like home.

Someone bumped into him, and nearly made him lose balance in his state of wonder. 

"Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry!" It was a short woman with dark brown hair. She bowed even though her hands were full of materials, electrical by the looks of it.

"No problem, mate."

The woman looked surprised and a bit disheveled like she hadn't slept in a while, but smiled a little. "I haven't seen you before, are you new?" 

Jamison grinned. "Yep! The name's Jamison Fawkes, and I'm gonna win this competition!" he boasted and made a "thumbs up" gesture, pointing his thumb back at his face.

The woman giggled, not believing him. 

"Mei!" Jamison turned to the voice and felt his gut sink when he saw who it was.

"Zarya...whoa..." He knew all about Zarya and her mechs; the woman was a beast and she was one of the top competitors. She always wore her mech like a suit of armor, and had the physical strength to actually move freely in it.

"Is this tiny man bothering you?" She asked to Mei. 

" _Tiny!?_ " Jamison squawked. "I'm like six-five!" He stared at her. "We're the same height!" He was slightly embarrassed that he knew that fact off-hand.

Zarya eyed him and growled, " _Tiny_ ," she repeated, but then softened her features and turned to Mei when the girl placed a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry Zarya, this is Jamison. He's...new."

"Builder or fighter?" Zarya asked him. 

"What?" 

"Do you build mechs or fight them?" 

"Oh, I build 'em." 

Zarya laughed. "Who hired you?" 

Jamison narrowed his eyes slightly. "Mako." 

"Mako? Roadhog?" she raised her brows. "Really. Interesting." Zarya held her chin, but then got right up close to Jamison, their chests practically touching. "I will destroy all mechs you build and take the championship this year." Jamison swallowed. "And if you even look at Mei in a bad way, I will break you."

"Understood." Jamison spoke stiffly and felt himself sweat.

"Let's go, Mei," Zarya grabbed her hand and led her away.

Jamison had to collect himself. Zarya, _the_  Zarya just threatened him, and he was a bit too excited about that; she could punch him right in the face and he'd probably thank her. He adored her work and her mechs, and from the look of it, Mei was her mechanic, the genius behind Zarya's wearable mechs. After Jamison recovered, he kept going until he found the familiar mech from the earlier fight. Hana, or D.Va as she's likely better known as, was fiddling with her mech, seemingly adjusting some components on it. After meeting Zarya, Jamison would be lying if he said he wasn't just slightly afraid of meeting the other competitors.

"Hey," he spoke casually, but Hana ignored him completely. He narrowed his eyes and pouted slightly, and then coughed a few times, cleared his throat as well, and still nothing; she seemed to be trying to ignore him. That snapped the last of Jamison's patience and he slammed his hand onto the mech's leg, beside Hana's head.

"Hey—!" Jamison barely spoke before Hana's hands wrapped around his wrist, she pulled and twisted his arm as she spun around, and then used his unbalance to flip him onto his back, slamming him onto the ground. She stood over him, a hand on her hip as she pushed her goggles up onto her forehead. Jamison stared up at the ceiling, blinking widely in awe. 

"No one touches my mech," Hana scowled down at him.

Jamison stumbled to get up, wobbling a bit as he regained his balance and dusted some of the dirt off of his clothes.

"Your fault. Maybe you shouldn't ignore people."

"I don't have time for fanboys right now," she scoffed as she went back to her mech.

Jamison tutted in irritation. "Not a fan. I'm a mechanic."

Hana perked up, turning her head to look at him. "For someone here?" Jamison nodded. Hana stepped uncomfortably close to Jamison, standing on her tiptoes to look straight into Jamison's eyes.

"For who? Trying to steal my schematics? Find your own!"

Jamison narrowed his eyes. "Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. Mako doesn't need your schematics."

Hana's face softened, eyes squinting. "Mako, huh?" Hana returned to her normal height and pursed her lips as she thought. "That's weird."

"What?" Jamison was sure he'd regret asking.

"Oh, nothing." Hana waved her hand dismissively. "You just don't seem like Mako's type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jamison had to ignore how the "not his type" comment made his cheeks burn a little. 

Hana leaned against her mech, crossing her arms across her chest. "His last mechanic. What was his name? Marshall, Mitch, M...Manfred...? Something like that. He was real quiet, did his job, had manners, was nice, and really smart. You seem...the total opposite of him."

Jamison rolled his eyes. It took every ounce of self-control to not retort with the first snarky comment that came into his mind.

"I don't care about Mako's old partners, what I care about is your mech here. This is top grade A material and tech, I'd love to chat with your mechanic about it."

Hana tilted her head slightly, placed his hands on her hips, her expression was flat. "You think I'm just going to let my mechanic talk to the competition?"

Jamison chuckled. "Listen, D.Va, that's your name right?"

"Hana," she corrected.

"Right, Hana, I'm Jamison Fawkes, and I'm going to win this competition my way, with my mechs and own schematics." The confidence coming off a newbie irritated Hana. "I just want to ask where they learned their stuff, this ain't no amateur's work."

"You mean like your mech?"

"It won, didn't it," Jamison jabbed back.

"Barely." Hana sighed, "Listen newbie, you can't meet my mechanic even if I wanted you to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Because you've already met 'em. You're looking at her." Jamison stared at her for a few moments and then it hit him, and once Hana saw the realization on his face, she laughed. "I'm my own mechanic, hand crafted my girl myself, and I have nothing to say to newbies who think they know what they're doing just because they won one fight. Now if you excuse me, I have _much_  better things to do."

Hana climbed up into her mech, started it and blasted off, leaving Jamison's hair and clothing slightly displaced from the air force, and some people around staring in his general directions. Jamison scowled and he wished he didn't feel envious of the girl. 

As he brushed out his hair, footsteps behind him took his attention, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Mako and rolled his eyes. Just what he needed.

"Came to watch, huh?" Jamison realized that Mako knew that Hana would react this way, that she was her own mechanic, and that Jamison would get essentially rejected.

"Couldn't miss you making a fool of yourself." Mako couldn't help but grin slightly at the disgruntled expression on Jamison's face.

"Whatever, I don't need to talk to her anyway."

"Right," Mako spoke and stepped closer. "Because you're going to win your way, with your schematics."

Jamison flushed slightly. "Ah, you heard that..."

"I heard all of it."

"Oh."

Mako sighed. "You have your work cut out for you, Jamison. Let's go back up and watch the rest of the matches."

Jamison pouted but once Mako walked away whether he was coming or not, he followed hurriedly after. Jamison caught up to him quickly and they got back in the elevator, unfortunately for Jamison, and for Mako. Jamison had a way of coping with his fear and discomfort of elevators, and unfortunately for Mako it was in the form of talking a lot, and asking questions. It started with talk of the competition, how many people entered, how many of them were actual threats, but then after Jamison got bored of that, other curiosities filled his mind. It got more personal, and Jamison made a mistake.

"So uh, Hana mentioned your last mechanic." 

Mako visibly stiffened, fists clenching. "Thought you didn't care about my old partners?"

Jamison blushed a little. "I don't, I just..." Jamison did care and he wanted to know what happened. "Well you heard what Hana said. Said he was quiet and all nice and smart and stuff, total opposite of me." Mako stayed silent, but Jamison was too dense to pick up on the tense air filling the small six-by-seven area. "I'm just curious why people think that, why people think it's weird that you picked me."

"I didn't pick you," Mako spoke quick and harsh, but regretted it immediately when he saw the look of shocked hurt take over Jamison's face. He groaned. "Listen, I didn't mean—"

"Nah I get it, mate." Jamison crossed his arms and turned his body away from Mako's. "I was the only guy you could get. If you had longer, you would'a found someone better."

All the guilt in Mako's belly doubled; he could hear the sadness in Jamison's voice as he spoke and see it in his body language. He bit the inside of his lip and took a step towards Jamison. A large hand settled on top of Jamison's blond hair, he could feel the slightly crunchy texture from the product in it.

"You're doing fine, Jamie." Jamison's eyes opened wide. "I picked you because you were the only option I had..." his fingers ever-so-gently ruffled Jamison's hair, "and...I can't say you're the best in the world, but I've worked with a lot of mechanic's from our city, and I can say for damn sure that you're the best of any of them."

Jamison's lips twitched into a tiny smile. The praise was nice, and Mako's hand felt warm on his head, but the feeling of it was somehow familiar.

The moment lasted a second too long and Mako began to remember the night they got drunk, and that Jamison still hadn't remembered it. He quickly withdrew his hand and shoved it in his pocket.

"Sorry," Mako said and rubbed at his neck. 

"It's fine," Jamison mumbled, giving the impression that it wasn't actually fine. He was still curious about Mako's former mechanic and what caused them to separate, but he knew better than to press the issue any more. Of course, he'd be lying if he said he didn't like the bit of affection that Mako just showed him.

The elevator dinged as they arrived at their floor. They walked off as a few people got on, and headed back to their suite in awkward silence. Jamison eventually went back to his normal cheerful self, rooting for anyone who was winning in the battles. Meanwhile, Mako sat back with a beer, lifted his mask a bit to drink it, and kept an eye on his partner from the side. That strange feeling from earlier creeped back into his gut; remembering that night and how Jamison's lips felt against his own, how his hair felt in his fingers just minutes ago. This time, he was finding it hard to find a reason to chase those thoughts away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mako's got it bad.
> 
> \--
> 
> |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|   
> **Thanks for reading!**   
>  Please remember to leave   
> a comment. It keeps us   
> writers alive and happy.   
> Thank you.   
> |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| 
> 
> Check out my other sites and places where you can find me [**here!**](https://squeakster.carrd.co)
> 
> Hey! I run an **18+ only** RoadRat Discord! come [join!](https://discord.gg/TExtAwW)


	11. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _It made Mako angry._   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these chapters are so few and far between. I'm still trying to recover my writing mojo.  
> For those of you who don't know, in May I moved from Michigan to sunny San Diego, California in an attempt to get my life together in any capacity...and I've been failing pretty bad at that, but I'm _trying_ to get back into writing and may find a way to set up donations in the future.  
>  Thank you for your patience with me and my slow updates.

After the incident with Hana and Zarya, Jamison steered clear of any of the other competitors and watched the matches with Mako. Jamison noticed a change in Mako's behavior; he was quiet. Mako was always quiet, but it was almost like he was ignoring Jamison's existence. Only answering in grunts or short answers whenever Jamison spoke to him, and sometimes his answers didn't even make sense. He'd been pushing his luck with Mako ever since they met, but something about it just didn't feel right.

After the day's matches, the two went down to the meeting room where they all gathered on the first day. Jamison tried not to stare at Zarya as stood beside him, but she glared out of the corner of her eye and tutted. Hana also skipped into the room covered in grease and grime, and also shot a glance at Jamison.

"Looks like you made some new friends," Mako spoke under his breath with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Jamison snapped back.

Zarya heard the little squabble and chuckled at them, which made Jamison growl and turn to her in irritation. One look from her, however, put him back in his place and his head sunk down into his shoulders and he bumped backward into Mako. 

"Y'all are mean," he grumbled.

"Suck it up," Mako told him. "It only gets worse from here."

"You suck it up," Jamison retorted weakly and immediately regretted his words.

Mako hated how he found it cute. He sighed and shook his head just as the moderator of the matches entered the room.

"Alright, listen up! You're all getting a break for the new few days to rest and make repairs to your mechs. This board," he spun a partition whiteboard over and stopped it expertly on the other side, "shows next week's matches. Look 'em over, prepare, and meet back here Monday at 11am, matches start at noon. Dismissed."

People pushed to get to the board first to see who they were fighting. Hana was in front of Mako and Jamison and she looked over the matches. She grinned and turned to walk away, but stopped and patted her hand on Jamison's shoulder a few times.

"Good luck," she teased and walked away, and Jamison followed her with his eyes and glared.

"Jamison," Mako's deep voice brought him back to what was important. "Look." Jamison looked at the board to find Mako's name, and when he did, he felt like his soul lifted out of his body.

Across from Mako's name was Zarya's.

Over the next few hours, Mako had softened a bit and offered some more in the way of conversation, but even under his mask, Jamison could tell that he wasn't looking at him. Something felt off,  but Jamison was too proud to bring it up. Besides, Mako would just shut him down anyway.

The next morning, Jamison lay on the pull-out couch in the hotel room, waiting for his turn to use the shower. One of his legs was crossed over the other, his foot bouncing impatiently, although he was more anxious than anything else. He was going against Zarya's and her mech and honestly, he didn't think that he could win. She used some sort of shield mechanism that powered her up and used frost and ice for protection and attacks as well. How was he supposed to win with brute force and a sword?

"Jamison, your turn."

Jamison tilted his head back to look behind him, and if he had been standing he might have stumbled a bit at the sight in front of him. Mako wore nothing but a towel around his waist as he almost sauntered as he passed and sat on the bed. Well, almost nothing. A towel, and that damned mask.

"Will you take that off?" Jamison growled in an attempt to distract from his red cheeks.

Mako grinned. "That's a bit forward, isn't it?"

"I meant the mask," Jamison avoided looking at him but Mako saw the younger man's pinkish cheeks.

"I know, but you're fun to tease."

Jamison growled and sat up, bringing one leg sideways on the couch. "Shut up. What's even up with you lately? You act cold and shit but now you're teasing me like that."

Mako shrugged as he looked through his clothing. "Go take a shower."

Jamison rolled his eyes, stood up and sulked to the bathroom where he took his shower. He couldn't deny that Mako acting like that made him feel all sorts of different things. Happy because he was talking to him and almost seeming to joke with him. Sad because in the end, Mako didn't actually care about him. And just a bit horny.

Mako lounged on the bed in his casual clothes. He was looking through a pamphlet that the event had given out; it went over all the details, rules, and how matches worked. As he read something about a surprise at the end of the event, Jamison came storming out of the bathroom shouting.

"I've got it!"

Mako turned his head towards him curiously and saw Jamison, like he had been, in only a towel, except his hair on top was soaking wet and messy.

"You're getting the carpet wet."

"It'll dry." He ran to Mako, though he made sure to grip his towel a bit. "I know how to beat Zarya!"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he questioned disbelievingly. Zarya was a very strong opponent, and Mako had a hard time believing that during a short 15 minute shower, Jamison was able to come up with an idea.

Jamison nodded enthusiastically. "Lemme ask ya, what gets rid of ice?"

Mako hesitated, not sure if Jamison was going to answer his own question. "Heat?"

_"Exactly!"_ Jamison was far too starry-eyed and excited about it. "Don't you get it? If we can melt her ice protection, she loses that ability and we don't have to worry about her freezing us!"

"Brilliant plan," Mako spoke sarcastically. "How do you plan to do that? Give me a flamethrower?"

Jamison narrowed his eyes into an irritated glare; he could feel how Mako was patronizing him. "Maybe, if you don't watch it." He crossed his arms. "I was thinking some sort field around your mech, kind of like her ice mechanics, but with heat. Get it hot enough and it might melt any ice she throws at us."

Mako leaned forward. "That doesn't disable her ice though, what's your plan, just keep it hot? That'll overheat your own mech."

"Not if the mech is insulated and heat resistant."

"You know you only have three days, right? Less than that actually," Mako reminded him. 

"Yeah yeah, I didn't forget." He bit his lower lip. "Wait... I may have an idea. I'm going out!" As Jamison turned to run off, Mako grabbed his skinny wrist.

"Go re-take your shower."

"What? Why?"

"You didn't wash all the shampoo out of your hair."

Jamison blinked at him and then reached up to rub some of his hair between his fingers, and sure enough, he felt the slick feeling of soap still on his locks.

"Oops. Sorry, must'a got too excited."

"Right, just go."

Jamison chuckled nervously and returned to the bathroom to wash his hair out properly. After, he finally got dressed in his newer clothes of deep blue jeans, a fake brown leather jacket, and ankle boots that he kept wide and open at the tops. He left his hair unstyled, which left the longer hair on top more wild and curly. Mako kind of liked it that way; it looked cute, but he caught himself before he went any further with that thought.

Jamison rushed out of the hotel and out onto the streets. The town was a minefield of stores, mech repair centers, tech shops, food and drink. With no trouble at all, he found a tech shop. Inside there were shells of computers that had been stripped for parts. All sorts of tech, from mech equipment to basic music listening, gaming, and anything else to do with technology.

"Hey, can I help you?" the young woman at the counter greeted him. She had dark skin, brown hair dyed purple near the tips, had one earbud in her ear, and she seemed to be chewing on some bright pink gum.

"I'm looking for something specific."

"Well I've got specific, let's talk."

Even though he shouldn't, as the hours passed, Mako became worried about Jamison. He wondered if he'd gotten lost, or kidnapped in this town. It was bigger than the place they had originally come from, but then again, Mako didn't know much about Jamison's past or how far he's come. He picked up his phone and opened his contacts to Jamison's name, he typed out a small message.

'Are you dead?' He hesitated to send it. He didn't want to seem worried even though he was. He couldn't help it, he'd gotten sucked in; something about Jamison was infectious and he wanted to know where he was. His thumb circled over the send icon for a minute before he finally sentit.

Waiting for that reply was even worse. What if Jamison actually was actually hurt? He felt like such a fool for letting himself get so entangled in these thoughts. Nearly 15 minutes passed before his phone buzzed. Jamison replied in a typical Jamison way:

'Yeah I'm on the side of the road dying,' and right after another text came through, 'missing my arm too.'

Mako replied, 'Guess I have to find a new mechanic'

'Fuck you I can work with one hand'

Mako chuckled at his phone, not realizing how he was smiling. Jamison sent another before he replied.

'I'm at the workshop. I found something that give us an edge'

Mako struggled with the option he was given. He doubted that Jamison even realized the situation he put him in. Does he go and show that he cares, or not go and let curiosity rip him apart? He decided on going and seeing just what Jamison had found for them.

Mako entered the center and took the elevator down into the basement where the workshop was. As he entered, the eyes on him didn't go unnoticed; it was strange to see Roadhog down here, only every so often. People began to whisper, as Mako was kind of known for rarely checking in on his mechanics. He found Jamison by himself in a little corner, crawling on the floor under the mech he'd built before. The mech already looked different, like it had a shiny new coat of paint or something. It still had some scratches but it looked nicer than it did. Mako glanced over to the workbench and noticed a ton of papers with various mech designs and schematics scattered across the desk.

"So, what'd you find?" Mako asked.

"Mako!?" Jamison exclaimed with surprise and scrambled to get out from under the mech. He bounced up onto his feet. "What are you doing here? Thought you didn't like checking in on your mechanics."

"Call it curiosity," Mako said and walked over to the desk and looked over the papers. Jamison shifted to the side to stand in front of Mako. 

"These are a bunch of notes I've been taking over the week, also notes on Zarya."

"That's weird."

Jamison scoffed. "It won't be weird when I help you win against her."

Mako didn't laugh or make a snide comment back, instead of just stared down at the other. "You don't really think you can beat her, do you?" his voice was colder than before.

Jamison turned away from him and began to organize his notes. "Someone's gotta believe in me, I'll do it myself if I have to."

Mako reached out to him. "Listen, kid—"

"Don't call me 'kid!'" Jamison shouted and slapped Mako's hand off of his shoulder. "You've done nothing but beat me down and treat me like a child since you hired me! Why are you even here!? Did you come here just to beat me down more!? Why don't you just go away and let me work!"

Mako saw something in Jamison's face — a burning anger, but something else as well. He had so much pain in his expression, such a sadness, and it manifested in small tears that welled in his eyes. His teeth were tight and his fists balled at his sides. Mako didn't know how to handle a situation like that so he did what he was best at and walked away.

Jamison took a deep breath and felt the shudders that one gets before sobbing, and let it go. He turned back to his work and started the next part of his project.

Mako walked down the hall until he stopped and leaned against a wall. He didn't know why but it hurt. His chest hurt. He felt guilty, but he also had to be realistic; Jamison was an amateur with a poor mech, and he was up against a woman who had been battling in and out of mechs since she was a teen. There was such a slim chance of winning against her and he knew that Jamison's dreams would be dashed, but that was the nature of the competition. 

At that moment Mako realized that he wasn't just concerned about himself not winning, but about Jamison's view of himself when they undoubtedly lose. Luckily Mako didn't have to win this battle to get into the bigger tournament, but he'd save that for another day.

Jamison worked until dusk and even throughout the night. He wanted to get it right and he wanted to win. He knew he was up against Zarya, someone who could easily break him in half, but if he could find a way to disable her mech's defenses, then she would have less of a chance of totally demolishing his mech.

"Hey," a voice called out from behind Jamison. "It's 8am, what are you still doing here?"

Jamison was half asleep under the mech and crawled over to see who it was. It was Hana, and she seemed almost concerned that he was still here.

"I'm working on my mech," he answered and then yawned.

"I can tell." She leaned against the workbench. Her eyes scanned over Jamison's mech and she had to admit, it was starting to look more polished and put together. "So...lots of us heard your blowout with Mako yesterday. People are talking."

Jamison stayed quiet and ducked back under the mech.

Hana sighed. "Listen, I..." he rolled her eyes and pushed her foot against the platform that the mech was on, making it roll on its wheels off of Jamison's form. He was asleep.

"Ah jeez, what an idiot." She leaned down and shook Jamison's shoulder and he groaned.

"What...?"

"Wake up, it's time for you to go home."

Jamison looked up at her with sleepy eyes. "Don't have a home."

Hana stopped for a moment and just stared at him; she wasn't prepared for such a sad thing to come out of the guy's mouth.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast and I'll send you back to your hotel." She held out her hand and Jamison hesitated to take it.

"Why are you being so nice to me now?" Jamison asked her as she helped him off the ground.

Hana looked flustered at the sudden question. "I..." She groaned. "I was kind of a jerk to you before."

"Yeah, you were."

"Shut up. I'm trying to make up for it. I shouldn't have been so rude, guess I just figured you were like any other dumb guy coming to gawk at me and my mech."

Jamison laughed. "Not interested, girly. Just wanted some advice, friendly competition and all that."

Hana nodded slowly. "Sure. Well. Come on, I know a little place we can get breakfast." She grabbed his wrist and began pulling him away.

Around 10am, Mako woke up and found Jamison's couch empty. He immediately pulled out his phone and sent a text to him. 'Where are you?'

No reply.

Mako had never felt so worried in his life and slipped on his shoes quickly, and then bolted out the door. He had to calm down. Jamison was probably just out still or left early in the morning. Hopefully. He went down to the workshop and found Jamison's desk still covered in papers, his mech was pushed out of place and things just looked disorganized. Jamison wasn't the most organized, not by a longshot, but he kept things fairly clean around his desk when he was working. It looked abandoned. The sudden thought that Jamison had run away and left him after yesterday's argument entered his mind and he felt cold.

His phone buzzed.

'Sorry for the late reply. I'm at a place called the Rusted Nut café down the street. I'm with Hana.'

Mako froze and had to reread the last part a few times. 'Why?' he replied.

Jamison didn't reply, but Mako made his way to the café and found the two sitting at a little round table drinking smoothies and had some mostly eaten muffins on their plates.

"Jamison?"

"Hey Mako, ya make it!" Jamison lit up and looked at Hana, presenting her with a hand motion. "You know Hana," he chuckled.

"I do."

"Hey there, Roadhog," Hana giggled.

"Since when are you two friends?"

"Since she woke me up and offered me food." Jamison took a long sip of his smoothie.

"Is that all it takes to gain your friendship?"

"Pretty much— Ow!" Jamison held his head while squinting his eyes. "Brainfreeze."

"That's what you get, you impatient idiot," Hana jabbed and sipped her own drink.

"Be quiet," Jamison grumbled at her as he chewed on his straw.

What...was this? Mako was utterly confused. Jamison seemed to hate Hana before, hating that she was winning, but they were giggling and talking over smoothies they were best friends. It made Mako angry.

"There are more matches today, be at the center at noon."

"No can do, mate," Jamison spoke as he ripped a piece of muffin off and shoved it in his mouth.

"What?"

"I gotta work on the mech. Did some good work last night and I gotta keep going if I want it to be ready for Monday's match."

"Fine, I'll see you later then." Mako wasted no time in storming out.

"What's with him?" Hana asked.

Jamison shrugged. "You'd know better than me. He's been like this since I met him."

Hana nodded and hummed quietly. "How did you guys meet anyway?"

"Oh that. Well, his own mechanic bailed on him I guess, he put out a job offer, sort of. I needed a job so I went to his place." Jamison swirled the straw in his drink aimlessly. "He's not actually paying me, but it's fine. I just needed work."

"Not paying you? Is he at least giving you part of the prize money?"

"Yeah, but it's not much when you split to between two people." Jamison shook his head and began to toy with his nose ring out of anxiety. "But it's fine, really."

Hana's face dropped. She really wasn't expecting Jamison to be so emotional; she could hear the pain in his voice when he talked about Mako.

"Listen, I've known Mako for a few years. The situation with his last mechanic was...complicated, but it has nothing to do with you. Just do you and he'll come around, and if not, I'm sure other fighters will pick you up if you prove yourself."

Jamison stared at her and then smiled a little. "Thanks. Y'know, you're not so bad yourself— ow!"

Hana kicked him under the table. "I'm not gonna go easy on you in the arena if we have to fight. Better come prepared."

Jamison laughed. "Right back at ya!"

After the two finished their breakfast, Jamison headed back to the hotel. Mako was sitting by the window and staring out it, his entire body stiff. Jamison was tired and he didn't feel like getting into it with Mako, so he flopped down on the couch on his belly and closed his eyes.

"Thought you were going to work on the mech?" Mako asked, but did not take his eyes off the window.

"Was, but I'm too tired. I'll do it later." No response. It was getting close to 11am, so Jamison figured that Mako would be leaving soon, but he showed no signs of going.

"Thought you wanted to see the fights today?" Jamison mumbled halfway into a couch cushion. There was no reply for a good ten seconds.

"I was just leaving." Mako suddenly got up, trudged to the door, and slammed it behind him.

Jamison sat up and just stared at the door. He couldn't help but feel like he did something wrong, but he couldn't think of what he actually did. His lips were in a frown but he couldn't let it bother him too much, and he flopped back onto the couch and closed his eyes. He'd wake up in a few hours and join Mako at the arena, and then pull an allnighter on the mech again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone's feeling things he doesn't want to feel.  
> Jamison had a mango-pineapple smoothie and Hana had a strawberry-banana one.  
> Also yes that girl at the tech shop is Sombra.
> 
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